Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
instead of mothballing it, why don't we refit it to make it the worlds 1st carrier to be UAV's only.
We could also upgrade the defense capabilities.
Why not try some rail guns and lasers. with a nuclear reactor, we should have the juice to power them both!
I'm just curious what other navy pilots might think though. would they feel they are being replaced (which they slowly are) and be resistant? or would they see this as a way of saving lives/money?
I kind of like the idea of a large and modern navy as our ace-in-the-hole (or one of them) against a potential threat from China that may or may not come some day in the future. Keep her afloat.
Crystalblue, I definitely think you're on to something there with the idea of a floating UAV platform. And, the Big E is one awesome carrier. But Forest Beekeeper has a good point; it'd be cost prohibitive to turn it into a "bird farm" for UAVs. There's gotta be a more cost-effective way to get that done.
Steel makes good hulls, however those hulls have a limited life span.
At one-quarter of their projected life-span hulls are normally inspected and thin spots are thickened. It is a huge massive under-taking and usually the entire ship is overhauled.
It happens again at the half-way point, and at the three-quarters point in the projected life of each steel hull.
My career was on subs. Sub hulls need to be xrayed and magnetic-flux examined for micro-fractures. Steel hulls expand and contract, as well as flex. They are flexible. As they flex, fractures do happen. Leaks do happen. Leaks are okay, so long as we know about them, and we maintain the ability to pump the in-coming water out faster than it comes in, we are 'safe'. As the fractures accumulate the hull's integrity is calculated and it's useful lifespan is re-determined.
Using our projected math models, we know how badly fractured a hull is, and we set limits on ourselves as to how hard we will use the vessel.
For example on subs we commonly set deep excursion limits, these are limits to how deep we feel the hull is safe to go down to. And as we monitor the leaks, the limits may change.
Every time that a hull goes into shipyard, and all of these things are happening [the hulls are being examined, re-strengthened, and the limits are being re-calculated]. There are bean-counters who are doing the math to project the cost as well. How many months in dry-dock, and how much work is needed to make a hull sea-worthy once again, and capable of lasting until it's next scheduled overhaul.
The money is not taken lightly, and it can not be ignored.
When a hull is ready to be scrapped into razor-blades, it is done. Finito. The cost of over-hauling and bringing that hull back into seaworthiness is too great.
I was envolved with transfering ex-navy ships to foreign countries. We built a ship for around 11 million. 25 years later, we overhauled it to sell it. Course, they paid for it. But we overhauled it for 60 million. Prices have gone up a bit and an overhaul to make it "Seaworth" is rediculous.
To refit/overhaul/outfit something like the Enterprise would run way more then just replacing it. Much like your car. It's a nice old car, but there is a limit. There comes a time when it's just more cost effective to junk the old gal.
We don't sell/transfer/lease nuclear powered vessels. All others were fair game.
The other line of thought is maintenence. Years ago we had frigates that were outstanding. Best fuel milage around. Boiler plants. But with newer/faster ships, the plants onboard the bases had to change to meet the newer requirements. In order to keep some of the maint facilities going would have also been costly. It was easier to scrap the old boilers because of all the maintenance done at the bases had changed their shops.
So it's not just the ship, but all the repair capabilities.
Forest Beekeeper, your last post made me pause and remember the U.S.S. Thresher... Even at such a young age, I was very saddened by its' loss...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
