The Navy peers into the future:
(The Office of Naval Research) is working on developing a free-electron laser, with applications on land, at sea and in the air. Its speed will be ideal for ballistic missile defense and could revolutionize the Aegis Combat System. Today, naval officers are getting hands-on experience with the FEL at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., which has a prototype of the technology.
Other projects include the unmanned fighter jets that will join the Navy’s future air wings. The Unmanned Combat Air System is scheduled to make its first test flight this year. Navy leaders openly talk about it replacing the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornets after 2025.
I’ve got two Bureau Numbers in my log book sitting on the flight deck of the USS Midway museum downtown, but hearing open talk about retiring an airplane I never got around to flying is starting to make me feel ret old fashioned.
Pulsar Cannons! Buck Rogers would be right at home.
Lex, think how someone whose main ride was an F6F feels about now. Your turn is coming my friend. Just a few more is all it takes.
Then there are grandkids, then great grandkids.
I too have a BuNo in my logbook sitting on the flight deck of the Midway…we should start a club
…
…or just start wearing “Old Guys Rule” t-shirts.
I prefer “GEEZER POWER!” on MY t-shirts, Helobubba.
Or, how does “The Fighting Fossil(s)” strike you? LOL.
I remember when we transitioned from the P-3b to the P-3C Update II. Went from fully analog to a computer system that is about as powerful as the one in my microwave oven.
Sigh…..
I prefer middle-aged, skirt chasing, letch, known for being a cunning linguist. Thank you.
Huh, actually have the opportunity to check out the Midway museum here soon and will probably be taking it. Heard good stuff about it.
Don’t think they’ll end up retiring the Super Hornet too soon after 2025 unless there’s a major contraction of the armed forces (which at this rate is actually looking more and more likely.) Especially not to be replaced by laser armed UCAS. Laser armed UCAS will be great, especially in a Taiwan Straits conflict, but will be too expensive to replace the Super on anything approaching a one to one basis to say nothing of the current fighter gap problems. My guess, we’ll still have some super hornets (even if just a squadron per boat) on carriers for some time after 2025, serving as gap filler/some extra and still useful in COIN/Fleet Defense/Low Intensity conflict assets if nothing else.
When you do, AMDO, go up to the F-4 and smack him on the snoot for me. Tell him Mongo sez Hi. Never flew in the durn thing, but spent many an hour unbreaking things on it. That particular aircraft was used for aircrew training, with a second set of flight controls installed.
Mongo
It’s a deal. Probably have a few other aircraft I need to chastise, and sternly warn to straighten up and fly right on that deck too.
Cheers!
Seriously though, can you imagine aegis phased array with laser cannons? ha … too cool … makes me smile. Might even make those little floaty things good for something other than throwing themselves in front of torpedoes headed for carrier.
*ALL* the BuNos in my logbook are either flightdeck trainers, gate guards, sitting in MASDC or on the ocean’s bottom.
- SJS
P-3B, BuNo 152750. She sits out in the desert awaiting her fate. I’d love to be able to buy her and rebuild her as my personal aircraft.
However, I would settle for a couple of the seats from off the rails in the tube where I used to sit. That would be so very awesome to have them in my home.
Of all the A/C I have flown in, she is the one closest to my heart. There’s a bond there that few can understand.
I know a Canadian pilot who punched out of a CT-114 Tutor. The maintenance crew found the sear, cleaned it up, mounted it on a pedestal, and presented it to him.
I’ll go all you brown shoes one better. All the SHIPS I have cruise books for, and all but one shore duty command are “disestablished”. The only shore command left is Sub Base Bangor, and when I put it in commission in ’64 it was called Polaris Missile Facility Pacific. To top that off, my rate (NW then GMT) is even gone.
yup,
They amalgamated several rates under the “AW” header last year too…….
Diluting the brand, as it were.
Sigh…
Dumb question – why are Navy enlisted rates rather than ranks? And why the distinction between rates and rating? Something to do with the more specialized jobs aboard ship?
The Rate/Rating thing goes back to 1740 when the Royal Navy adopted it. The USN just adopted the same structure. A Rate is a position in the ships personnel structure. Started out with Landsman, then upwards to Boy, Ordinary Seaman, Able Seaman, and finally Petty Officer. You weren’t referred to as “rated” until you got to ordinary seaman. The Rating was a given task that Rated men were taught, like Boatswain, Quartermaster, Gunner and such. My statement above that my Rate was gone isn’t accurate since Chief Petty Officer is still around, but my Rating (NW and GMT) are no longer exist. Useage has blurred the difference between the terms over the years, though.
In modern usage, a sailor has a “rank” of second class petty officer, or E-5 (for example), which defines his pay grade, but a rating of Operations Specialist Second Class, which tells a great deal more about him.
I had a Master Chief Petty Officer correct me when I mentioned that he was an E-9.
“That’s a pay grade, commander. I’m a Master Chief.”
He was right.
Thank you, gentlemen. So the ‘rate’ kind of started of as a general ability to function aboard ship, and rating is your job. Kinda, sorta.
The easiest way to remember the difference was Rate = Rate of Pay (Rank). The other one (Rating) was your job/NEC (MOS for the layman).
Lex, if “In modern useage…” was meant to read,”Hey, you old fart….”, then I resemble that remark. Never felt old until I realized one day I had been retired as long as I had been active…and that was a ten years ago.
As explained in Boot camp, a rate is a rank. Your rating is what you do. My rating was Quartermaster. Lex gives an example of a combined rating and rank above, OS2. AW1 is another example in AW1 Tim’s handle. AW1 means he was a first class petty officer and the rating, iirc, is Aviation Warfare. Tim is welcome to correct me as I’m trying to remember from more than 30 years ago. a “3″ would mean third class petty officer, and a man who is designated, but is an E-3, would be for example, QMSN, a Seaman who is designated as a “striker” for Quartermaster.
PO3 would be an E-4, if I’m not mistaken.
Another of the rates that evolved was Aviation Machinists Mate, which went from ADJ (for jets) and ADR (for recips) to just plain AD.
At the Master Chief level the AD rate combined with the AM (Aviation Structural Mechanic) rate to become AFCM (Master Chief Aircraft Maintenanceman). There are several other ratings that do likewise.
Wiki has a bit more on Navy Enlisted Aviation Ratings.
I remember seeing in Proceedings, an illustration of a PERRY with a device about the size of a Econoline van in place of the missle launcher, blasting away at things with a beam weapon in proper Star Fleet style. It was the lead picture in an article about future weapons, as I recall. This must have been 20 or so years ago. Maybe they are getting closer, and the PERRYs now do have space for it.
But…the hull plating will be way to thin….Yo! Byron! we maybe got work for ya!
Nah, already replaced the thin hull in #1 AC Mac, visual and UT inspections sat.
Scott, put down the pipe and step away from it