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Are you sure the inflatables can outrun a carrier? Though the top speed is classified, it's widely acknowledged that a CVN can make 30+ kts indefinitely, and in

by greedo 11y ago

Are you sure the inflatables can outrun a carrier? Though the top speed is classified, it's widely acknowledged that a CVN can make 30+ kts indefinitely, and in sea states that would make inflatables untenable. And "armor penetrating bombs" usually do so by one of two methods, kinetic energy imparted via gravity or rocket engine, or via something similar to an explosively forged projectile (like the fancier Iranian IEDs). And there may not be any radios to jam (assuming your swarm can maneuver intelligently without communication), but that doesn't mean that your control servos etc are immune to jamming. The electromagnetic spectrum is pretty wide, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was something that couldn't be fried by a clever Aegis array. The wattage those arrays put out is pretty incredible.

logfromblammo 11y ago
An aircraft carrier displaces 100k tons. A fully loaded inflatable displaces maybe 2 tons, and can hydroplane. As long as the outboard motor is not damaged, an inflatable is definitely faster and more maneuverable than a carrier. The carrier beats the inflatable in range and seaworthiness, though, which is a significant advantage. So again, the major problem is how to get the inflatables close enough to the carrier in the first place. Inside a harbor or straits, you accomplish that via stealth or trap. On open seas, well... probably better to guess where the carrier group is going and wait for it there. The threat of an attack like this can cause a carrier group to maintain an impassable cordon at a certain distance from hostile coastlines, just like anti-ship ballistic missiles. 500 guys can spend all night prepping and launching boats from transport trucks and a floating pier, and two can pilot the "flock leader" close enough to your ships that the attack behaviors can trigger. As far as I know, you can craft a bomb using engineered shapes and controlled detonation timing to drive a lance of molten copper through a hardened steel armor plate. It does require a certain level of technical expertise and precision machining. That's why so many boats have decoys on them; too expensive to put bombs on all of them. But even so, the USS Cole attack used only 0.3 tons of dumb explosive and still opened a big hole. But it neither sank the ship nor damaged its keel, which is why bigger, smarter bombs are needed to take down a warship. You have to pierce through more than just the outer hull, otherwise the built-in passive defenses of a modern warship mean you only inconvenience the enemy for a few months, rather than putting their asset on the seafloor. Couldn't you place all electronics inside a Faraday cage and ground it to a metal part in your hull? The steering and throttle can be done with purely mechanical linkages.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  US aircraft carrier top speed is classified, but "in excess of 30 kts", typical inflatables top out at about 30 kts, though there are faster high-performance designs. I don't think it's clear that inflatables are faster than carriers, but they are more maneuverable (can change speed and direction much more quickly), which is more important outside of a long-distance chase.

by greedo 11y ago

logfromblammo 11y ago

An aircraft carrier displaces 100k tons. A fully loaded inflatable displaces maybe 2 tons, and can hydroplane. As long as the outboard motor is not damaged, an inflatable is definitely faster and more maneuverable than a carrier. The carrier beats the inflatable in range and seaworthiness, though, which is a significant advantage. So again, the major problem is how to get the inflatables close enough to the carrier in the first place. Inside a harbor or straits, you accomplish that via stealth or trap. On open seas, well... probably better to guess where the carrier group is going and wait for it there. The threat of an attack like this can cause a carrier group to maintain an impassable cordon at a certain distance from hostile coastlines, just like anti-ship ballistic missiles. 500 guys can spend all night prepping and launching boats from transport trucks and a floating pier, and two can pilot the "flock leader" close enough to your ships that the attack behaviors can trigger. As far as I know, you can craft a bomb using engineered shapes and controlled detonation timing to drive a lance of molten copper through a hardened steel armor plate. It does require a certain level of technical expertise and precision machining. That's why so many boats have decoys on them; too expensive to put bombs on all of them. But even so, the USS Cole attack used only 0.3 tons of dumb explosive and still opened a big hole. But it neither sank the ship nor damaged its keel, which is why bigger, smarter bombs are needed to take down a warship. You have to pierce through more than just the outer hull, otherwise the built-in passive defenses of a modern warship mean you only inconvenience the enemy for a few months, rather than putting their asset on the seafloor. Couldn't you place all electronics inside a Faraday cage and ground it to a metal part in your hull? The steering and throttle can be done with purely mechanical linkages.

dragonwriter 11y ago
US aircraft carrier top speed is classified, but "in excess of 30 kts", typical inflatables top out at about 30 kts, though there are faster high-performance designs. I don't think it's clear that inflatables are faster than carriers, but they are more maneuverable (can change speed and direction much more quickly), which is more important outside of a long-distance chase.