How Many Aircraft Do You Need Airborne For An Effective CAP?

True but Mig-31s would seldom be used in ground or sea surface attack roles so naturally their size of the air regiments would be different.

 

The Russian naval Mig 31's I believe were to be used as interceptors to shoot down F-14's and F-4's and today's FA-18's. Basically to take out carrier battle group's or todays carrier strike group's CAP.

 

Well, kinds hard to really have a CAP when you have no carriers.

So let's assume you are talking about an amphibious group then, since that is the closest thing to your scenario.

Well, you still have the AEGIS surface warfare ships as escorts, so that has not changed at all. They are still the first line of defense.

But the Sea King does not have any kind of AA capability, especially not something like the AIM-120 AMRAAM. In fact, the only helicopters I can think of that carry AA missiles are the AH-64 which can carry the AIM-92 STINGER, and the AH-1 Sea Cobra which can carry 2 AIM-9 SIDEWINDER missiles. And since this is a Naval question, that means of the 2 only the AH-1 would be in play. And with a range of only 20 miles, these would not be effective at all. Shot down long before they could engage anything.

But their primary CAP would be provided by AV8B Harriers These can carry up to 6 AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles each.

So no real changes, just Harriers instead of Hornets, and less of them. The Burke class Destroyers would still be doing most of the air defense missions.

In your situation, I would expect all air assets in the air immediately rushing towards the enemy. Even helicopters between the bombers and the amphibious ships which would be fleeing as fast as they can turn their screws (even getting the Marines to jump off the back and push if that gave them some extra speed). Then the Destroyers putting themselves in between the bombers and Amphibs to take as much of the damage as possible.

I espect the Harrier pilots to all die, trying to take out as many as possible. Hopefully they would kill off enough of the bombers and missiles so that the death toll if the missiles struck the amphibs did not cause a death toll double that of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor.

And no, I am not kidding. A single LHD class ship like the USS Iwo Jima will have from 6-8 AB8B Harriers on board. And a compliment and crew of somewhere around 3,000 men. 2/3 of them Marines who are in the holds essentially as supercargo. All the Harriers could do in your scenario is to die gloriously and hope they blunt enough of the attack that the ships can escape.

But if you want to look at your scenario and how it might have played out 30 years ago, read Red Storm Rising. Specifically the chapter known as "Dance of the Vampires". It had a scenario very much like what you are proposing. In it the French carrier Foch was sunk, the Enterprise and Saratoga badly damaged, and the Saipan destroyed, with the loss of over 2,500 Marines.

It was one of the most chilling chapters I have ever read. The reader is literally inside the decision loop of the defenders, and can see every decision being made. But knowing what is really going on can feel nothing but helplessness as the carriers and amphibious ships are decimated.

With your scenario, I can only assume that you are talking about the Dance of the Vampires engagement, since it is almost the same. And remember the outcome of that one. 1 Backfire regiment and 1 Badger regiment. End result, 1 carrier destroyed and 2 badly damaged.

However, AEGIS has also greatly improved in the last 3 decades. The RADAR and electronics can detect and track more potential targets, can directly link to other ships in the system, and the missiles are faster and have greater range. And the ship based defensive weapons (Sea Sparrow, CIWS) has also greatly improved. So it is doubtful that the result would be anywhere near the same.

In the 1980's, the aircraft were still the main defensive weapons for a surface group. In the 2010's, it has been replaced with the surface to air missile.

 

This depends upon so many variables.

Where the carrier group is...what the enemy has...etc.

AA

 

Also U.S. Carrier groups do not get too close to an enemy air forces range.

AA

 

Actually in Red Storm Rising it was the Nimitz and Saratoga that were damaged along with Foch being sunk. Enterprise only appeared briefly in the campaign to retake Iceland as seen by its radio call sign "Starbase".

And it was a lot more than a regiment of Backfires and one of Badgers.

There were 70 Backfires launching 140 Kingfish air to surface missiles which decimated the NATO force. And a similar number of Badgers launching 140 or so Kelt missiles outfitted with radio transponders to resemble bombers to draw away the four squadrons of F-14s in the CAP.