Since the Cold War era, a variety of weapons have been given the title of “carrier killer,” such as the Soviet Navy developed a variety of supersonic heavy anti-ship missiles and their development models, these supersonic anti-ship missiles are fast, strong (given the technology of the era), powerful (some combat parts weighing up to half a ton can even be installed tactical Nuclear warheads), some of the tons of supersonic anti-ship missiles can even exceed 500 km range, these supersonic anti-ship missiles once hit the carrier, even if not sink, but also can cause serious damage, and even make the carrier out of action.
But there is an important premise, is that these missiles can hit the carrier, if not hit the carrier, there is no point, the U.S. carrier-based fighters are enough to ensure that surface warships, submarines and bombers carrying these supersonic anti-ship missiles can not enter the launch position before being sunk and shot down, even if there is a leak, these missiles will have to face multiple air defense network interception, anti-ship ballistic missiles and “With a range of thousands of kilometers, hypersonic missiles such as the Zircon are able to take their launch platforms or positions out of striking range of U.S. Navy ships.
Recently, the U.S. Navy announced that the MQ-25A Stingray unmanned refueling aircraft has broken through technical difficulties and is one step closer to entering service, which will significantly expand the combat radius of U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft, including the Super Hornet and the F-35C. The MQ-25 Stingray is a stealthy aircraft that can penetrate into relatively dangerous airspace where non-stealthy refueling aircraft dare not enter, and in theory, the combat radius of U.S. Navy carrier-based fighters will no longer be limited by fuel, but only by the physiological limits of the pilot.
The MQ-25 Stingray is equipped with a Rollo AE3007N turbofan engine with a maximum thrust of 4,500 kg and a maximum takeoff weight estimated at around 20 tons, which maximizes the fuel load factor by eliminating the Life support system and bomb bay. “The MQ-25 can extend the Super Hornet’s radius of operation from 830 km to more than 1,300 km, and can deliver a total of 6,800 kg of fuel for four to six fighters over the sea at a distance of 930 km from the aircraft carrier.
According to Boeing’s plans, the MQ-25 Stingray’s primary mission is to refuel U.S. Navy naval fighters, but it can also mount precision-guided munitions under the wings and guest attack missions to attack those secondary targets in safe airspace. Due to the stealthy design of the wing-fuselage fusion, diamond-shaped fuselage cross-section, V-tail, buried air intakes, rectangular tail nozzles and other stealthy designs, it is likely that a special attack model will be developed in the future, and the munitions will be mounted in the newly designed belly bomb bay to carry out strike missions in more dangerous airspace.
With the support of the MQ-25 “Stingray” unmanned refueling aircraft, the U.S. Navy’s combat radius has expanded significantly, enough to attack some of the original deep targets that could not be struck, while the original anti-ship ballistic missile launch positions outside the U.S. carrier strike radius, but also become less safe.
Recent Comments