ajacksonian: The RFC problem with Naval consttruction is, as you said, a huge issue. However, as with many large capital projects, designing and building a ship is a decade-long prospect. It is impossible to anticipate technological and system improvements that may come to bear in the interim. One way we have, in the past, tried to deal with this was by building to spec and then bundling upgrades into a post-delivery shipyard period (the name for this escapes me). While a second period to rip out and replace antiquated equipment that had just been installed does seem wrong, with the RFC issue it actually is cheaper. We can also take a page from dear ole Rummy’s book and understand the “known unknowns” that await us. In fact, I believe this is being practiced in a sort of phased design process, where portions and systems of the ship are intentionally left unfinished to allow future design after basic infrastructure and hull construction is near complete.
Dave: re your comment about the utility of lower tech air platforms in theater, Many would be surprised to learn that one of the most requested platforms in CENTCOM are the old USN sub-hunting Maritime Partol Aircraft (MARPAT) P-3. They load them up with Hellfires and Mavericks, stick them up inthe air and let them use their high resolution RADAR and imagery systems to surveil. With 10-12 hr dwell time they just hang around up there until they’re needed, something no fast-mover can do.
