Besides observing that it has room for a few more helicopters, it must be noted that this is the perfect setup for Command, Control, Attack and Interdiction (CCAI) of boats in the littorals.
Add to it the Boat Companies that these ships carry and you have a mini-ARG setup to control large swaths of coast line.
The Gator Navy.
The most pro-active force in the fleet.
is the san antonio equipped for a strong defense though? there were concerns it would have difficulty in a high threat environment, does it have the defenses for that or would it need some escort ships?
ReplyDeletewhat are you talking about Joe?
ReplyDeleteif its a high threat situation then the ship wouldn't be alone...if we're talking about a situation like the one off the coast of Africa then this is perfect.
the Marine Corps and the Gator Navy are setting themselves up to continue to be the go to force in the future. no riverines. special ops will probably climb aboard since they like to steal missions but for now its a USMC/Gator show.
well i was thinking of like an opposed landing type situation, i know its perfect for a force like somalia and anti-piracy but i was thinking of a more forced entry style where the beaches are opposed.
ReplyDeletein an opposed landing you'll have more than San Antonio class ships around and you know it!
ReplyDeleteyou'll LHD's...heck even carriers.
come on man.
well thats waht i was wondering is what other ships would support it? i am not critisizing it, i think its a great platform, but we wouldnt pull our burks and supercarriers that close, i was just wondering how that would happen.
ReplyDeleteDon't let the picture fool you Joe, IRL the ship would not be that close to shore in a war zone. The whole reason it carries helis and small boats is so it can cruise far off shore and send those in. It would really be about 100 NM off shore (out of C-802 range)
ReplyDeletegee I always fought warships were supposed to protect themselves - rather than rely on the "
ReplyDeleteBattle Network". You know its that old adage about covering your six?.
BTW close aka standoff distance is down to 12 nmi. and no the billion dollar baby LPD17s do NOT have enought weapons to protect themselves.
ONE LPD17 equals ONE HVT. One bad missile hit and its and its Marines are out of action at least for awhile.
so what are you going to put close to shore that can discharge Marines?
ReplyDeleteJHSV? LCU? LCS? none of that crap will cut it.
hard on much for Amphibs dude? dange LEESEA, whats with the extreme negativity?
You missunderstand, I know that ALL amphibs will eventually end up close to the landing beach. They need to move closer to shorten the supply lines to the Marines ashore. My point is that the big amphibs are woefully under-equipped with weapons to go closer with much degree of safety.
ReplyDeleteThe solution is to put more weapons on LPDs an LSDs which are now supposed to come in to 12 nmi. And let the big decks stand off some more.
One of the cons of the decision to reform ARGs into three ship elements is that any combat damage or ship casualty (like wet well docks) to ONE of three very much affects the ARGs ability to conduct its mission.
Subset is that LPD17s can be improved, but their construction has been so botched up that design changes resulting in $$ change orders are just NOT being considered.
My first Gator, a Mariner LPA, had four times the weapons an LPD17 does. That to me is NOT learning for the past.