Flying aircraft carriers

[darkonnis]

I think they'd be a great idea, i mean, not necessarily for war fighting (like world war style) but for conflict zones such as afghanistan they'd be amazing, think about it, they could float high enough that militia wouldn't be able to do anything about but at the same time would allow for much faster response times for aircrafts and the all important medi-vac. Aswell they wouldn't need to be huge aircraft carrier size, merely big enough to support say 2 planes or a few helicopters or something with space for ammo/fuel or a med center.
As far as powering suh a thing goes, i think the old style airship ideas would be great, almost like a blimp or 2 joined together with the actual "carrier in the middle" of course hydrogen would be nogood but helium is a close second. that would certainly help keep some of the load off if nothing else because once its up it aint coming down. Its not like it needs to be adjustable, of course such a feature would be nice but so would being able to explore a planet a bit further than mars; when the technology is available, sure. Of course this wouldnt be the end of the problem but its certainly one way to look at it.
From a tactical perspective it would certainly make things interesting because aircraft until this point have never been able to hold ground. They either take it or attack forces coming to take it, they have no actual 'presence' in the same way ground forces do, with something like this it would certainly make you think twice before going after minor OPs and check points with one of them hanging around overhead.

 

[Contun]

For good measure, let's make a flying aircraft carrier that carries other flying aircraft carriers.

 

[FallenJellyDoughnut]

In the modern battlefield, weapons are so lethal that it's all about stealth.

This, considering how damn unfair modern warfare is, you're fucked unless you have something that can cloak both you and your thermal image.

 

[Jamash]

Aren't they kind of redundant?

Surely if we had that the kind of propulsion technology to keep an aircraft carrier in the air, then that same technology could keep smaller planes in the air indefinitely or increase their range so much that even ocean based aircraft carriers would become obsolete...

However, an aerial submarine/ship carrier would be awesome. Imagine being able to fly over a landlocked country and launch subs and ships into their lakes and rivers.

 

[Quaxar]

I feel reminded of the film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". They had these things.

Spoiler

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/Ultradyne/SKY_CAPTAIN_169-0.jpg

Lame, because it relies on these huge propellers to stay airborne. Then again they had Mustang planes with the ability to turn into little submarines.

I'd say like a jetpack with miniguns it's huge badassery but probably not that practical. Still, I'd join the military if my country had one.

First we need a grizzled, never-aging, eyepatch-wearing leader (Preferably the Sam Jackson version) and jets with five engines. Then we can have flying aircraft carriers.

How about her?
http://egoist.solidvox.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/angelina_jolie_in_sky_captain.jpg

 

[TheRocketeer]

Sure, spend trillions of dollars building the twenty nuclear reactors you'll need to keep it in the air. It'll be great for a lark.

Just make sure no one on the other team goes by 'Mobius 1.'

 

[Shoqiyqa]

What's powering it, and how are you getting food, fuel, drinking water, munitions and the all-important mail bag up to the thing?

I don't see the use for this until we, our fighters, strike fighters and fighter-bombers and their carriers all go interplanetary.

Now, a hovercraft aircraft-carrier that can deploy across swampland and salt flats and open water and coastal plains at 50 knots rather than chugging around the deep water channels at 10 knots might be useful.

 

[Shoqiyqa]

However, a aerial submarine/ship carrier would be awesome. Imagine being able to fly over a landlocked country and launch subs and ships into their lakes and rivers.

How do you get them back?

 

[Jamash]

However, an aerial submarine/ship carrier would be awesome. Imagine being able to fly over a landlocked country and launch subs and ships into their lakes and rivers.

How do you get them back?

Umm... some of the ships would be Skycrane helicopter carriers, which would carry everything back up.

I call it "the old woman who swallowed a fly" approach to warfare.

 

[Discord]

Aircraft carriers are nice but larger airborne gunships would seem like the future. Like the GDI Kodiak from Command and Conquer 4.

 

[Anarchemitis]

So something like this?

That is in fact an aircaft carrying another aircraft, but technically that's termed as a Mothership, not a Carrier. Like the Shuttle transport.

(N905NA)

I thought about having a large interceptor type craft after seeing the final boss battle in How to Train Your Dragon and realized that a big thing, even if as fast and maneuverable as a smaller craft, cannot match a smaller one because it's too damn big to avoid anything.

 

[Deofuta]

Hey check this out guys,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_aircraft_carrier

Also, instead of drones you could try a parasite flier, such as these.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_aircraft

And ooh, look at these!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine_aircraft_carrier

 

[Malyc]

Would it be a good idea? I don't know. Another world war might become even closer to a reality if these existed. They are cool, but probably not the best thing to put our resources into.

Think of it in terms of power rangers. You have zords that come out of a base except that base is also a zord that can move around and fight.

Why would ANYONE think in terms of power rangers? Somethin wrong wit u boy...

OT, They would be cool, BUT, they would also have to be the most heavily armed piece of machinery that has ever existed to avoid being equivalent to the paper target at a shooting range. Also, they would probably be extremely easy to shoot down. Take out one engine, and the thing would be too dam heavy to stay in the air.

 

[spectrenihlus]

Would it be a good idea? I don't know. Another world war might become even closer to a reality if these existed. They are cool, but probably not the best thing to put our resources into.

Think of it in terms of power rangers. You have zords that come out of a base except that base is also a zord that can move around and fight.

Why would ANYONE think in terms of power rangers? Somethin wrong wit u boy...

OT, They would be cool, BUT, they would also have to be the most heavily armed piece of machinery that has ever existed to avoid being equivalent to the paper target at a shooting range. Also, they would probably be extremely easy to shoot down. Take out one engine, and the thing would be too dam heavy to stay in the air.

Make sure that it is above the capitol of the enemy shooting it down. Either that or cloaking tech http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490669/Army-tests-James-Bond-style-tank-invisible.html

 

[Malyc]

Would it be a good idea? I don't know. Another world war might become even closer to a reality if these existed. They are cool, but probably not the best thing to put our resources into.

Think of it in terms of power rangers. You have zords that come out of a base except that base is also a zord that can move around and fight.

Why would ANYONE think in terms of power rangers? Somethin wrong wit u boy...

OT, They would be cool, BUT, they would also have to be the most heavily armed piece of machinery that has ever existed to avoid being equivalent to the paper target at a shooting range. Also, they would probably be extremely easy to shoot down. Take out one engine, and the thing would be too dam heavy to stay in the air.

Make sure that it is above the capitol of the enemy shooting it down. Either that or cloaking tech http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-490669/Army-tests-James-Bond-style-tank-invisible.html

That is actually not a half bad idea... Although you'd probably have to fly that thing dang near orbital to prevent anyone from seeing it, and it had better be the best stealth that ever existed.

 

[Good morning blues]

Yeah, it would be useful ? you would effectively be able to assert air power anywhere in the world, regardless of whether or not you had an airbase in the vicinity. I don't see any realistic way for such a thing to be created without Star Trek style antigravity devices, though.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Can it be a blimp or zeppelin? (is there a difference?)

That would be awesome, and you could play Led Zeppelin songs all day.