Somewhat OT: Harriers and Helicopters
For several years, I have been thinking about some highly speculative military fiction. I want one of the themes to be creativity in problem solving and using the tools at hand. In 2002, several of the European allies had escort carriers that could operate a combination of Harriers and helicopters. France had Jeanne d’Arc, a specialized helicopter carrier, as well as a fleet carrier. I started thinking about whether European light carriers operating Harriers and helicopters could operate against strategic targets ashore. I know the Harriers can carry weapons that would be effective against factories, but naval helicopters are an unknown for me. I know Canada manufactures a type of powerful pod rocket firing on a flat trajectory, but I don’t know how easily the helicopters one would find aboard Jeanne d’Arc, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and other European light carriers could be refitted to carry them. There are many, many unknowns for me about the idea of using Harriers and helicopters to attack industrial and other strategic targets ashore. Any feedback?
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“We’re not innovating. We’re selectively imitating.” June Bernstein, Acting President of the University of Arizona in Tucson, November 15, 1998.
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