jasonfreeland wrote:
Thank you David, that was some pretty informative information on the subject.
jasonfreeland wrote:
In regards to SPY-1(v)D and SPQA-9B, my one concern is can they use Interrupted Continuous Wave Illumination? Separate illuminators have always seemed a failure point to me.
Well, this is testing the limit of my technical knowledge. I am not an FC or an OS, but I have asked a lot of questions, so I will say what I know. The Aegis WDS utilizes a look-shoot, shoot-look discipline. That's mainly because the SPY-1 panels are so powerful that when the missiles fire and rise out of the launchers, if they are hit with a fully power SPY-1 radar, they will likely fry out or detonate. So, literally the radar turns off as the missiles are being fired. I don't know for sure, but when you're pumping out over a megawatt of radar energy, I don't think there is any way that AMDR will be able to get around that problem.
Concerning directors themselves, the SPY-1 panels can act as illuminators if they need to. The reason why they don't fully do that is because having dedicated directors is SOOOOOOO much more effective. When dealing with saturation attacks, having directors to do that last bit of correction is awesome. Keep in mind that the directors only control the very last bit of the missile's flight. The rest of the flight time is done by data link.
jasonfreeland wrote:
As far as I know I love the APAR SMART-L combo our allies are using and the AMDR seemed like a closer match to its capabilities. Am I wrong in this thinking?
Good question, man. I don't know. I just know how Aegis works. We just need a self-defense test ship with Aegis so we can test Aegis under full fire conditions.
jasonfreeland wrote:
I also have to wonder if converting the non VLS Ticos for shore bombardment wouldn't be a good use. I know the spares issue has been raised, but I'm talking about stripping AEGIS off completely.
Spare parts issues are actually non-issues. Contractors are more than happy to build more replacement parts.
jasonfreeland wrote:
I don't know how much that might change the issue as I have no idea what parts got stripped.
For instance, the Kidd class was "picked clean", but guess what? The US reactivated AND modernized all 4 Kidd-class DDGs for the Taiwanese. This was done for about $200 million a piece. So, honestly, the claim about lack of spare parts aboard modern ships is totally 100% BS.
Concerning making the 2 remaining "first 5" Tico hulls NGFS ships, depending on how many missiles you want to have and if you want to bring the stern up flush with the rest of the hull, you could mount several 8" guns on board. At least you could mount 2 Mk71 guns and 64 VLS. That's what I would do. The Mk71 is a real game changer. The VLS gives you a self defense capability as well as a decent strike capability.
Food for thought!