In 2015, if all goes well, the
USS Gerald R. Ford, the
most powerful warship ever
built, will begin
service in the U.S. Navy - retiring the venerable
Enterprise (CVN-65). Though displacing the same 100,000 tons as her Nimitz-class counterparts, increased automation will let her operate with hundreds fewer crewmembers.
Capable of launching 90 planes, including the
F-35C Lightning II, on 220 sorties a day, she will
defend herself against anti-ship missiles with the
Raytheon RIM-162 ESSM.
[more inside]
posted by Joe Beese
on Oct 30, 2010 -
138 comments
The cruiser Emden was launched in 1910. When World War One broke out, she was under the command of Korvettenkapitän Karl Friedrich Max von Müller, with Kapitänleutnant Hellmuth von Mücke as executive officer, who "was as extroverted as his commander was modest." When Graf von Spee, commander of the East Asiatic Squadron, decided to keep it united and head for Chile to coal up, Müller said he'd rather go off on his own and harass British shipping. Spee agreed, and the
Emden embarked on a spree of destruction that made him a hero not only to the Germans but even to the British; when it was over, the
Telegraph said: "It is almost in our hearts to regret that the Emden has been captured and destroyed.... There is not a survivor who does not speak well of this young German, the officers under him and the crew obedient to his orders. The war on the sea will lose some of its piquancy, its humour and its interest now that the Emden has gone."
posted by languagehat
on Aug 19, 2006 -
35 comments
The largest gathering of Navy ships in the Pacific since the Vietnam war is happening right now, off the coast of Guam.
Valiant Shield 06, the first in a series of proposed biennial joint
war-games, is a
massive military training exercise involving three
Carrier Strike groups, more than 300 air craft, and 22,000 personnel. While primarily an
ASW event, all branches of the military are there practicing
one thing or
another. The Department of Defense has invited a number of other counties to watch the games, including
China for the first time ever.
Some believe the game was just designed to put a scare into
North Korea (Not true, it's been in planning for a year).
But how does one run a
massive war simulation? Well, you just find yourself a copy of
OneSAF [
FAQ] or
JSAF (uh,
among others [
.ppt-to-html]) and you're good to go. (Previously on Metafilter:
MC '02 [
2])
posted by Fidel Cashflow
on Jun 22, 2006 -
25 comments
A wargame carried out by the US military was rigged to ensure the success of the American side against unspecified Middle East opponents, according to the retired General commanding the Middle East forces. Most amusingly, he managed to sink most of the American navy, and the game had to be stopped so the ships could be "refloated". I have to wonder, does this wargame indicate that America could be biting off more than it can chew, if it decides to invade Iraq by itself, or was this $200million down the drain?
posted by salmacis
on Aug 21, 2002 -
45 comments
