What's retarded about it? An older platform can still be effective given the proper upgrades on the modern battlefield. Bombers these days are mostly focused on standoff precision strikes, which greatly improves their suvivability. I think you should stop sounding like a rambling idiot.
F-22 operates as part of a carrier's air wing now? Did you put them there genius? The whole point of these bombers is to deliver their payload hundreds of kilometers away from their target, within protection offered by fighter escorts and IADS. You claim to be not trying look like a dick, but you sound exactly like an ignorant one.
Spoken like a retard. Just as carriers do not operate alone, those bombers are supported by other air and naval assets. In fact, those bombers present a greater threat to the US navy than all other Chinese strike assets.
You do realize that within minutes of a war, Chinese cruise and ballistic missiles would be raining down on those bases right? You do know that carrier groups have much greater survivability right? You seem to be under the notion that your assets will be perfectly safe to strike the other side without considering the capabilities of the OPFOR. Typical idiotic internet bravado.
And this is how I can tell you're ignorant. First, they would not use ICBMs as it would be a waste. It's called medium range ballistic missiles. Second, for ballistic missiles to hit anything but static targets would be incredibly difficult. You need to accurately pinpoint the location of the carrier, track it then calculate where that carrier will be at the point of warhead impact. Any course deviation means even the most maneuverable warhead would have a tough time keeping up, as they're not designed to track mobile targets. China has not shown that kind of surveillance capabilities and won't likely obtain them in the future. Get your facts other than some sensationalist neocon sources.
Yeah the thread can only contain so much "F-22 Merica Fuck Yeah" crap before it explodes.
Read your own article. Guess why the military isn't paying much attention? Because they know it's a greatly exaggerated threat which China could not easily pull off. Instead these get gobbled up by ignorant idiots, such as yourself.
Aside from demonstrating that you are clueless, you haven't said anything meaningful. Somebody is slapping himself silly, and it isn't me. You do know why they call it ballistic missile right? Here is a hint, trajectory.
It was necessary. F-14 were getting very expensive to operate, as the fleet aged. The variable sweeping wings added complexity to its maintenance and reduced readiness. I read somewhere that 6 hours of ground maintenance was needed for every hour in the air on average.
Nope, that capability is gone. It's not just about the long range missiles. The thing that made F-14 special was that it could fly longer and faster with more payload than F-18. You could say it was the last true fighter the US navy had. It extended the fleet's air defence range significantly. Quite a few Tomcat pilots basically rage quit the navy when the decision was made to retired the plane. You would have to go back to the drawing board for a new design to get that capability back, which simply isn't possible due to tight budget.
