Hi Backwards,
Totally agree with all you are saying, I cringe at the thought of rotary AEW but I am an old fogey that served alongside Nelson so these new helicopter toys might be sufficient but to my way of thinking we need 'height' and 'duration'
Any carrier we deploy MUST carry sufficient rotor wing capability to carry out the numerous functions that are part and parcel of carrier deployment. Looking back at our last conventional carrier I believe she carried at least ten RW aircraft but I look forward to reading the thoughts of those better qualified to comment.
This post reads like I am making suggestions but please accept I should be asking questions.
I accept the Super Hornet is getting long in the tooth but a little voice keeps asking if we are making far too much of 'First Day' strike capability. Is the costs of this technology justified when we have tomahawk along with UAVs. Why not look at the Growler along with any further developments. Boeing have the so called '
Silent F-15E' will there be further improvements for the F-18?