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Posted: 4/25/2001 5:22:16 PM EDT
I have not seen it anywhere and I'm kind of aggrivated by the lack of attention by the media.  I mean it was only last week.  But does anyone besides me think there is any connection between the EP-3 Airmen being released and the stance of the Whitehouse advising against the sale of Aegis destroyers to Taiwan.  I believe the letter to China said nothing and it is naive to think the Chinese did not know that. I also believe that the letter was simply a smokescreen to put in front of the public hiding the real deals behind the sceens.
Link Posted: 4/25/2001 6:07:04 PM EDT
[#1]
I believe we are now selling Kidd Class Destroyers.  If I remember my navy ships, they are pretty damn nice.   Yes, not Aegis, but still sweet.   Didn't the KIDD get hit in Red Storm Rising?  [:P]  One of my favorite books.

Link Posted: 4/25/2001 6:10:17 PM EDT
[#2]
Damn I just posted the destroyer deal to RICH314 we must be the only ones to have heard of it?  [sniper]
Link Posted: 4/25/2001 7:01:05 PM EDT
[#3]
Link Posted: 4/25/2001 7:27:12 PM EDT
[#4]
What does the Aegis destroyer have that scares
the ChiComs.
What about the Russian built Ships the ChiComs
just got. I've heard they are special in that they are designed to kill carriers with nukes.
Link Posted: 4/25/2001 10:15:11 PM EDT
[#5]
The Aegis equipped destroyers and cruisers have the ability to track and engage untold numbers of aircraft and surface targets at the same time. Surface to air, surface to surface with Harpoon, Tomakawk, and TASSM missiles, subsurface threats with ASROC and Mk 48 and Mk 50 torpedoes. Also equipped with conventional 5" guns and the awesome 20mm Vulcan Phalanx cannon for any missiles that make it through the defensive screen. The Chicoms have nothing even close! Their only shot would be to use a nuclear tipped cruise missle such as their locally produced Silkworm, or some of the newer hardware that the Ruskies are peddling.
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 12:14:51 AM EDT
[#6]
I believe the Bush administration admitted that the decision not to sell Aegis destroyers to Taiwan was because they didn't want to further strain US-Chinese relations any further because of the air collision fiasco. On an Upbeat note, Bush is the first president to publicly announce the U.S. would support Taiwan against China should they attack with U.S. military intervention. Man, it's like the Chink's think they could win a Nuclear war or think somehow fucking with the U.S. (war wise) wouldn't lead to a Nuke war.
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 12:30:55 AM EDT
[#7]
I remember when I worked at General Dynamics in LA in the early 80's Aegis was all the rage. We were getting the Standard Missile ready for it even back then. The fun part was hanging in the factory at lunch watching them build the Phalanx 20mm guns. Those things are amazing. Every now and then they would crank up the motors and just the noise of the gun tracking would scare the crap out of everyone. They used depleted uranium as far back as the late 70's. That was a fun place work, but the pay sucked.
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 5:50:40 AM EDT
[#8]
Quoted:
The Kidd Class is a set of four destroyers built for Iraq. When they took our embassy
View Quote


Iran, maybe?  When did Iraq take our embassy?
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 11:51:16 AM EDT
[#9]
The good thing about the Kidd class and most of our non Aegis ships is that they can use data links to have their weapons controlled by an Aegis platform. So when GW sells Tiawan an Aegis unit, the will have a tremendous increase in effectiveness. Between the EP-3 incident and our balance of trade, I don`t see how he could not approve the sale ultimately.
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 12:01:14 PM EDT
[#10]
Think about this, what if China succeeds in getting Tiawan back in the fold somehow?  Would we want them having Aegis class destroyers?  It is always possible in the next 5-10 years that Tiawan may voluntarily go into the PRC willingly.  Look at Hong Kong.  They didnt put up much struggle about it.
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 1:09:06 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
Quoted:
The Kidd Class is a set of four destroyers built for Iraq. When they took our embassy
View Quote


Iran, maybe?  When did Iraq take our embassy?
View Quote


Yes, definitely Iran.  The Kidd-class destroyers were ordered by the Shah of Iran.  The Shah was deposed when the ships were about 3/4 paid for, so we paid them off and took them into our service.  They were decomissioned a couple of years ago.  The Kidds are equipped with the NTU (New Threat Upgrade) system.  From what I've heard from lurking on the sci.military.naval newsgroup, NTU is as powerful as the early versions of AEGIS.  The only drawback for the Kidds using NTU is that they are equipped with the old Mk-26 twin-arm launchers for their surface-to-air missiles which means that they have a slower rate of fire than a ship with the newer Mk-41 VLS (Verticle Launch System) has.  Another advantage with the Kidds is that Taiwan will have them some time around 2003.  If we sold them the AEGIS destroyers, they would even be getting the first one until 2010.  The Kidds' hulls are the same design as the Spruance-class destroyers and the Ticonderoga-class cruisers.  Both of those ships are equipped with the Mk-41 VLS and the Ticos are equipeed with AEGIS also.  So, structurally speaking, Taiwain can have the Kidds in 2003, and could probably retrofit them to take AEGIS and VLS.  For more info on the Kidd-class, check out:  http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/ddg-993.htm
Link Posted: 4/26/2001 1:47:47 PM EDT
[#12]
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