Posted on 07/31/2011 9:02:23 AM PDT by lbryce
The Japanese must be secretly laughing at the Chinese. Don't the Japanese already have three aircraft carriers, currently used for helicopters but easily converted for jet aircraft? And the Chinese can't build one from scratch. Pathetic.
There is a big difference between a a 14,000 ton light carrier (I mean helicopter destroyer) and a 50,000 ton carrier. The Japanese helicopter destroyers may or may not be able to operate aircraft they don’t have like the JSF or Harrier.
That was the displacement of USS Wasp and USS Ranger. Both were sunk in action against the Japanese.
Last I heard, the Japanese were still operating the F-4J Phantom II in some capacity. Phantoms failed to intercept Captain Belenko's MiG-25, but I think they'd still be competitive with the J-7's and J-8's the Chinese employ in profusion; it was a J-8 that collided with that EP-3 in 2001.
Actually 43,000 ton carrier. But yes, a difference between 14K ton and 43K ton ships. The Japanese carriers are called destroyers because their constitution forbids them to have “carriers”. But they’re carriers, and they can handle fixed wing aircraft like Harriers, if the Japanese want them to. And they have them now. With 18k ton carriers joining them soon. Point is, the Chinese have a lot of catching up to do. They are a paper tiger at the moment.
The Independence class CVLs (modified light cruisers) weighed 11,000 tons. The Saipan class (modified heavy creuisers) light aircraft carriers, weight 14,000 tons.
Last I heard, the Japanese were still operating the F-4J Phantom II in some capacity. Phantoms failed to intercept Captain Belenko's MiG-25, but I think they'd still be competitive with the J-7's and J-8's the Chinese employ in profusion; it was a J-8 that collided with that EP-3 in 2001.
The Japanese are phasing these out. Currently, they are looking for a plane to replace these. I believe the contenders are the Eurofighter Typhoon, the F-15 Silent Eagle and the F-18E. They really wanted the F-22, but we chose not to sell those.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.