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Thursday, April 1, 2021

Navy Announces Ford Class Flt II

The Navy has finally released some details about the long awaited, improved Ford class Flt II variant now scheduled to begin construction after the completion of CVN-82, the last Ford Flt I.  The Flt II carrier will be 125 ft longer than the current Ford which the Navy claims will enable a 47% increase in sortie rate.

 

The Navy also revealed planned modifications to the air wing composition.  The Flt II air wing will consist exclusively of F-35C squadrons in place of the traditional F-18 Hornet squadrons.  As hinted several years ago, the F-35 squadrons will be reduced in size from the current 12x F-18s per squadron to 8x F-35Cs per squadron.

 

Navy spokesman, Capt. Bill Melader, explained the smaller squadrons,

 

With fewer aircraft and a significantly larger flight deck,  aircraft crowding will be reduced and we’ll be able to greatly increase the sortie rate by streamlining aircraft deck movements and repositionings which will allow us to operate the F-35 at much higher rates.  This will more than compensate for the smaller squadron size and allow us to keep more F-35s in the air than we could have with larger F-18 air wings. (1)

 

The smaller F-35 squadrons will result in the air wing being reduced to around 50 aircraft including 32x F-35 (4 squadrons of 8x) plus assorted E-2 Hawkeyes, unmanned tankers, helos, and a future electronic warfare F-35 variant that will replace the EA-18G Growler.

 

The Navy also announced that the first Flt II Ford will be named the USS Carol Turner  to commemorate the first female chief of the Navy Dental Corps who held the position from November 2003 to August 2007.

 

 

 

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(1)Broken Defense website, “Navy Previews Ford Class Flt II and New Air Wing Composition”, Sue Medude , 1-Apr-2021,

https://brokendefense.com/2021/04/navy-previews-ford-class-flt-II-and-new-air-wing-composition/


41 comments:

  1. Such absurd Clearly April Fools! The Navy would never ever name a carrier after someone as highly qualified and impactful as Mrs. Turner. She had fought in all fronts: in the dentist office (against teeth cavity), twenty miles from the Frontline(defending against working) and in front of the sexual harassment court (defending her allegations). Even President Reagan has nothing compared to her. In fact, I like to propose the Navy to rename all ships after her. It would be an honor to call ourselves the Turners instead of sailors!

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  2. You almost got me.

    The name clued me in, no way a carrier would be named after anyone but a politician.

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  3. Raytheon has come up with a new missile to fit in the MK41 silos, Surveillance And Reconnaissance Close Air Support Missile. Finally the surface force will be able to provide effective fire support for Marines ashore.

    T o complement the missile the Burkes will be outfitted with a Surveillance And Reconnaissance Close Air Support Theater Intelligence Center.

    While the missile is effective on its own SARCASM is most effective when employed by the SARCASTIC.

    -Adm Ceryus

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Let's see the Chinese copy that!

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    2. Of course they'll copy it, but with more sarcasm.

      Delete
    3. Do NOT be arrogant. Type 055's VLS is bigger than MK41 plus they can do both hot and cold launch. MK41 can only do hot launch.

      These days, Chinese Navy is no longer follow US step by step. For instance, in a tender invitation released last year, China will build type 076 amphibious assault ship. It has two EM ejectors. From the document, people estimate it is a ship mixed with drones and helicopters.

      As China displayed its GJ-11 attacking drone in Oct 2019 military parade, it is the only deployed stealth attack drone. It is possible that China is developing its carrier version. Type 076 tends to be the first drone based carrier.

      Delete
    4. Relax. It's an April Fool's post and comments. It's humor, if you're not familiar with April Fool's.

      Delete
    5. Or April Fish as they call it in France, Poisson d'Avril. Same thing, different name.

      Delete
  4. The important announcement that the strike aircraft group would consist of 2 squadrons of A-12 Avenger Aircraft was stealthily removed from the article

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  5. Was about to write a long post about how absurd that was, and then remembered the date.

    What is truly sad is that it's almost too believable for April Fool's Day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A degree of believability is key to a good April Fool's post. Hope you enjoyed it!

      Delete
    2. "What is truly sad is that it's almost too believable for April Fool's Day."

      Sad, but so very, very true.

      Delete
    3. "A degree of believability is key to a good April Fool's post. Hope you enjoyed it!"

      I did, thanks. But in the broader view it is almost too sad to be funny.

      Delete
    4. You're right. The Navy is making it hard for me to come up with funny stuff because they're doing all the funny stuff for real!

      Delete
  6. You forgot the best part -- since the carrier air wings will now be SMALLER, we can HAVE MORE OF THEM. This will justify buying MORE Ford-class carriers. A win-win..

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  7. I knew it was April fool's day, pretty sad that the bigger flight with smaller squadron size would lead to a better carrier is something USN would honestly say!!! That says a lot about current state of affairs inside USN....

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    Replies
    1. The Navy has gotten so used to lying to Congress in order to get what they want- saying the USS Harry S. Truman must be prematurely retired so the Navy can buy more Gerald R. Ford class carriers with which to increase its combat effectiveness and efficiency, being just one of MANY- it has fallen for its own lies. If the admirals and the enablers who support such "good ideas" aren't stopped, the US Navy will end up like the Soviet Union.

      Delete
  8. Almost had me!!! Thanks for that CNO... A nice, fun distraction from the downright distressing posts and convos here... Anyone else enjoy the April 1 posts enough to suggest that every 1st be April Fools??

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    Replies
    1. We don't want to do too many Fool's type posts or we'll give the Navy ideas that they'll try to implement!

      Delete
    2. I know,right! That sounded to close to WHAT USN would say to justify itself!!!

      Breaking Defense has the latest USMC plan with some details, I predict this will lead to a disaster vs China, small packets of Marines spread out on little island with slow and vulnerable logistics,what can go wrong?!? Ssdly, I dont think its an April fool's joke,its really USMC plan.

      Delete
    3. I dont think you'd have much negative impact for two reasons...
      First, clearly nobody in the Admiralty pays any attention to all the ideas and critiques of what they're doing here, or we wouldn't have nearly as much to gripe about!!
      Second, thats only 12 bad ideas a year, and I feel like they already churn out at least that many on a monthly basis!!

      Delete
  9. The Navy's announces the new Family First Fleet program. The USN is buying several cruise ships, they will allow underway liberty and dependent housing. No more more long separations from families, they'll be right there in the fleet,aboard the USNS Disney Princess. No more wasting time sailing back to home ports, deployments will now last 4 years, saving time on retraining.

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    Replies
    1. Sad to say this is a FAR better idea than the USMC plan to "reinvent the Corps", as described at https://breakingdefense.com/2021/04/historic-marine-plan-to-reinvent-the-corps-exclusive/

      How are they going to hunt submarines? With ASW helicopters? Don't those helicopters need HEAVY, MAINTENANCE EXTENSIVE sensor systems to detect and target submarines- systems that are "dead weight" for an assault helicopter a sane USMC officer would use to deploy Marines against enemy positions? Wouldn't the USN have a better use for those ASW helicopters? If a Chinese submarine intends to threaten a USMC base, it'd do so with cruise missiles from hundreds of miles away- too far away for an ASW stationed at that USMC base, to find it- so what was the point of the USMC investing time and money in ASW training and equipment?

      And that's just one of MANY proposals the Commandant gave, without first asking anyone (including himself) "Does this make sense?"

      Delete
  10. USS Carol Turner.

    It seems completely appropriate that a Ford class carrier would be named after a non-combatant.

    Lutefisk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well … only because Gabrielle Giffords was taken.

      Delete
  11. Thank god i know it is April Fools day. Because none of this is outside the realm of current Navy thinking.

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  12. Other than paint a rosy picture, please fix the first one -USS Ford FIRST.

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  13. This is excellent. The Ford Flt 2 will be an antisubmarine platform extraordinaire. Without it's strike fighters it 5 MH-60Rs will hunt subs while it new heavyweight fighters will run rings around maritime patrol aircraft.

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  14. (AP) NEWPORT NEWS, VA (Apr 1) The US Navy, amidst lavish celebration, launched the newest addition to the Fleet today: the USS William J. Clinton. The Clinton, according to a Navy spokesperson, will add a new twist to the Navy's capabilities and will solve a number of problems that have arisen in the years since women were added to the complements of Navy vessels. USS Clinton, designated AGH(M)-1, is a brand-new, state-of-the-art Maternity Hospital Ship. Navy Spokesman Ben A. Mittlesteadt, briefing reporters before the christening ceremony (the ceremony for the "ship," not its occupants) stated that the new vessel is designed to alleviate the serious challenges associated with the ever-increasing incidence of shipboard pregnancies.

    "We are concerned that the necessity of evacuating female sailors from fleet units has become an difficult operation, given the number of evacuees that we have to deal with on a weekly basis. USS Clinton will be equipped with its own helicopter airlift wing in order to relieve the maternity transportation burden on existing combat units."

    The Clinton is to be the first of a twelve-ship class, each 80,000 ton ship costing $230 million. A Clinton-class ship will be added to each of the Navy's carrier battle groups to ensure full combat-readiness in the face of the increasing number of expectant naval personnel.

    Each AGH(M) will be provided with a fully-equipped OB/GYN staff, a complete birthing facility (staffed by Navy medical personnel trained as midwife/Lamaz specialists), and a neonatal clinic. A comprehensive day-care center will be included in order to allow new sailor-mothers to return to duty as quickly as possible, which will greatly increase the efficiency of Navy operations, Mittlesteadt told reporters.

    In a departure from Navy tradition, the ship's sponsor, NOW president Patricia Ireland, christened the vessel by breaking two bottles across the ship's bow: one containing infant formula, symbolizing the services to be provided to a new generation of Navy juniors, the other filled with kiwi/orange/cucumber nectar, representing the Navy's commitment to fulfilling the needs of its pregnant crewpersons. The second ship of the class, the USS Murphy Brown (AGH(M)-2), is scheduled to be launched next year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It didn't say how many VLS cells it has.

      Lutefisk

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    2. I believe the Geneva Convention forbids arming hospital ships, meaning no VLS cells can be legally mounted. Doing so is just begging for images of barbecued babies to show up on CNN.

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    3. If it doesn't contribute to the distributed lethality of the fleet, then I don't want it. I don't care how desperately the navy needs these ships.

      Lutefisk

      Delete
    4. Actually a more useful ship than you you would think. I wonder if they'll stock it with cigars....

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    5. "More useful than an LCS."

      Sad, but true.

      Delete
  15. Without the comment I would Ha e been fooled!

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  16. I am shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you, about how easily you have obtained this highly, highly classified Naval Aviation Strategical Planning document! I only hope you do not get your hands on the associated document which describes Naval Aviation's plan for upgrading F35 software so it can fly in reverse, to confound those pesky enemy missles. Shame on you for publishing such highly classified info...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I got it off a Chinese website.

      Delete
    2. Is that the website where they published the fix for the LCS combining gear??

      Delete

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