The JMSDF has a new helicopter carrier. See here and here for a bit more on Japan’s slow-motion carrier program. As the authors note, whenever one of this baby carrier comes into service, questions emerge over whether it could, at some point, operate the F-35B. In most cases the answer seems to be “difficult, not […]
Tag: naval aviation
At the Diplomat I revisit questions of institutional design and military effectiveness: Organizational infighting over naval aviation is common, and can have serious negative effects. The Luftwaffe, o
A bit more on India’s naval aviation program: Some readers of last week’s post on the Indian carrier program contacted me to suggest that I had shortchanged Indian efforts to develop naval avi
My latest at the Diplomat builds on an ID post from a while back: But India’s carrier heritage may be less of an asset than it seems. India doesn’t appear interested in achieving greater efficiency in many areas— even in terms of common training and operational procedures— with this path of carrier fleet development. With […]
My latest at the Diplomat takes a look at China’s approach to naval aviation: Ranging from the Colossus class carriers distributed across the world at the end of World War II, to the Spanish D
The Enterprise leaves service: The world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier was retired from active service on Saturday, temporarily reducing the number of carriers in the U.S. fleet to
In my latest at the Diplomat I call for a more standardized vocabulary of naval affairs: Navies do a poor job of developing such a nomenclature, in part because they have good reasons to avoid standardized ship designations. Civilian policymakers don’t like to hear that they’ve devoted a substantial portion of the government treasury to […]
James Holmes on INS Vikramaditya vs. The Chinese-carrier-to-be-named-later: And to be sure, the Varyag will reportedly carry about 26 fixed-wing combat aircraft—the official People’s Daily spec
On the connection between aircraft carriers and national prestige…
Earlier this year Stephen Trimble stopped by the Patterson School and gave an excellent talk on the F-22 and F-35. He spoke quite a bit about this: The F-35 reportedly has similar issues, although it’s still in the test flight phase and has some characteristics that may make it easier to find and resolve the […]
Long time mainstay of the milblogger community Neptunus Lex has passed: Authorities say a pilot for a defense contractor is dead after an Israeli-made military fighter jet crashed at Fallon Naval Air
In 1980, the USS Nimitz sails out of Pearl Harbor and into a strange storm. On the other side, the crew finds itself in December 6, 1941. After coming to terms with the basics of the situation, Capt