China just simultaneously launched two Type 055 "destroyers"

a reply to: Zaphod58

They are supposedly, someday, maybe going to put the Naval Strike Missile on the LCS. That has at least a 100 nm range.

Oh, wait, the Chinese frigates have missiles that have a range at least ten miles longer, if not 25. Oops.

a reply to: anzha

LCS needs to be changed from Littoral Combat Ship to Lotsa Cool Salvage.

originally posted by: worldstarcountry
We need to strike now before their Invasion forces have sufficient numbers to begin attacking g and occupying their neighbors who are our allies. China is clearly gearing up for a direct confrontation. If we do not strike first we will be struck first.

Whoa that was a 0-60 response LOL. Slow down there tiger, take the finger off the trigger and slowly walk backwards.

a reply to: WarPig1939

I'm pretty sure China is gearing itself up for war with the U.S..

China planning to go to war with the US?

Any survivors would have to resort to rubbing two sticks together to make fire....the Chinese know that just as well as the Americans.

Why have direct military confrontation when trade wars etc are far more effective?

Of course they seek at least parity with the US, its allies and even Russia, why wouldn't or shouldn't they?

Sure, China wants to further its interests in Asia, and Africa and South America too, but direct military conflict? I think not.

a reply to: Zaphod58

At least the new frigate will be better than the Chinese frigate...oh wait, it's only probably only going to have 16 vls cells since it will almost assuredly be based on the LCS designs.

a reply to: anzha

No disrespect, but comparing ships against each other on the amount of missiles carried is the pursuit of silliness.

I am sure Chinese warships are good, even those armed with lots of missiles. It's the way you use them that counts.

This is maybe a dumb question, but why do you even need something like the subsonic NSM when you have something like the supersonic RIM 174 ERAM with half again as much range and 3.5x the speed?

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: WarPig1939

I'm pretty sure China is gearing itself up for war with the U.S..

China planning to go to war with the US?

Any survivors would have to resort to rubbing two sticks together to make fire....the Chinese know that just as well as the Americans.

Why have direct military confrontation when trade wars etc are far more effective?

Of course they seek at least parity with the US, its allies and even Russia, why wouldn't or shouldn't they?

Sure, China wants to further its interests in Asia, and Africa and South America too, but direct military conflict? I think not.

It's inevitable. Why? China's interests will always differ from the US's and that will always create problems. No side is going to cave in to the demands or expectations of the other.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

LCS doesn't have VLS cells.

The VLS cells for the frigate are probably going to be reserved for air defense, ESSM. You can pack 4 ESSM per cell. 64 ESSM then. Probably 32 attacking missiles downed then. depending on the speed of the missile.

That's why you need at least 32 cells, if not 40. 16 self defense. Then the remaining for the dual longer range air defense/strike and if you had 40, then 8 for either ASROC or LRASM.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Because the two are designed for totally different purposes. The NSM is an attack missile, with a 900 pound warhead. The Standard was designed for air defense. It CAN be used against ships and surface targets, but it's only got about a 150 pound warhead, so you'd burn through a lot of your defensive missiles to do as much damage as a single NSM.

a reply to: WarPig1939

Yeah, maybe so....but the US had far bigger differences with the old USSR but open warfare never happened.....and it won't with China for exactly the same reasons.

a reply to: Freeborn

I don't know about China, but the US maintains there ships very well. You would be amazed at what goes into just a paint job. Good luck finding rust on a US Navy boat. We're also allies with India who has 2ND largest Navy. Also all the best ship fitters and welders in the world move to US because it pays more.

a reply to: Jdubious

I have absolutely no doubt the quality of US ships are far superior to China's in nearly every possible way.

I wish I could say the same about ours but alas the Royal Navy has been severely under funded by successive governments....it is truly a national crime.

a reply to: Freeborn

a reply to: Jdubious

Actually, things aren't so rosy right now. All of the services have gutted readiness and training rates. They're working to fix it, but it'll take time. Seventh Fleet, which is the primary response for Asia is currently a godawful mess. They relieved a number of commanders from Seventh Fleet, PACFLT and Surface Fleet.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yeah, but you've recognised the issue and are taking steps to address them.....we on the other hand just continually cut funding to our Armed Services, to what end I don't know.

Everyone is aware of the criminal negligence shown to our Armed Services yet still this insane policy remains.

a reply to: Freeborn

It's interesting to watch, because everyone SEEMS to recognize the issue, but the steps they're taking are making things worse in the short term. It's going to be a mess to clean up.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I'm only talking about ships not Command and Crew, but you're totally right we've got some issues. How can we fight a war when we can't even navigate through international shipping lanes. Inexperience and lack of training can be a SOB.

a reply to: Jdubious

And that inexperience and lack of training is going to carry over to the ships equipment. Part of the problem is that ships are being fast tracked back to sea, so their maintenance schedules are being thrown out the window. That's why at one point, e had one carrier available for deployment. All of the others had been worked to the point they HAD to come in for scheduled maintenance that had been deferred. And it's really not a lot better for the escorts.

All of the issues that we have right now are interconnected. They can't get the maintenance, because they're needed at sea. They can't do the training, because they're having to fix all the little problems that weren't fixed because they skipped their maintenance, and they didn't have the pier side training time. They can't navigate because they can't get the training.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Well thank god for the coast gaurd then.

a reply to: Jdubious

It is and it isn't as bad as it seems. Seventh Fleet is the hardest hit, because they spend on average something like 52 more days a year at sea than the other fleets, because they're forward deployed. They're getting the maintenance situation under control for most of the fleet ships.

Where it's worse is when you get into NAVAIR and Marine Aviation. Marine Reserve units are still flying F-18A+s in some cases. The aviation side has gotten so bad that on a recent deployment the Carrier Air Wing was shifting aircraft from units that weren't deploying into the units that were, so they could have a complete Wing on the deck.

That is happening to the Air Force as well. Last year, the B-1 readiness climbed to just under 53%, which is up from 47% two or three years ago. All our aircraft are behind on maintenance, and all are old. The F-15 fleet has over 90% of the fleet at, or over, their originally designed life cycle, and that's still one of our primary air defense aircraft.