Forum: Modern Military Aircraft

madrat wrote:

If someone was really budget conscience then would it have made sense to operate the F-14D in the USAF as a interim solution for tactical strike while they were retiring F-111 airframes. Or was the F-15E really all that more cost effective?

Setting aside the fact that USAF would never buy a Navy plane for this kind of thing...

The F-14D Block IV of the mid '90s would have greater strike capability than the F-15E of the same period, but would not be able to carry as big a load as far. The F-15E can carry gargantuan amounts of fuel, and it doesn't need all the extra structure required to operate from carriers. That greater strike capability, though would not be enough to justify the really large costs of introducing the Tomcat to USAF given the F-15E is already there.

Candor also forces me to admit that if the F-15E didn't exist, it wouldn't have been possible for Grumman to even propose the Block IV.

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geogen wrote:

IMHO,

And as much as I currently support the SH and it's growth potential...

But a typical CVN deployment today, going back 15 yrs and rethinking a strategic long-term approach... should consist of:

1 squadron F-14D follow-on build. (re-engined around 2002-2005 to common ST-21 engine)
1 squadron ST-21 (undergoing it's next increment upgrade)
2 squadron new-build, enhanced F/A-18C+ (post-99, under a should have been, continued production) with earlier builds being sold under FMS, or transferred to USMC to replace older hornets. These legacy hornets would be currently under-going an MLU consisting of mini-CFT integration and RACR-radar replacement.

Plans for transitioning into 5.5 gen + UCAV fleet starting in 2022 would be already well underway.

Cheers

Just a few notes on what might have been.

ST21 was to use same F110 as F-14D. It's quite likely that both would have gone to the 29K version, more for commonality of subcomponents with USAF and resultant savings than because of an absolute need for more thrust.

Remember, I'd rather have seen A/FX than ST21, but if that program did get funded, once there's an ST21 there's no need for further F-14Ds and they would start disappearing from the decks, either to Davis Monthan or to be rebuilt into ST21s. Similarly, in an ST21 world unless budgets were super-tight, there might not be much need for more Hornets.

Forum: Modern Military Aircraft

supertomcat instead of superhornet?