Why aren't catapults used to launch cruise missiles? I feel like that would be cooler.
>>65215340Rockets are a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to transport than giant steam catapults powered by nuclear reactors.pic unrelated.
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>>65215352But if you already have the carrier on station...
>I feel like that would be cooler.
>>65215340You could retrofit multiple small semi vertical catapults on existing frigates and corvettes to launch drones, essentially turning them into drone carriers. This way, you can launch many drones at once at short notice.
>>65215340You can launch more missiles in less time without the need to build up steam pressure, with less space/personnel than a catapult requires, using a common missile that works across more vessels/platforms.Cool idea for drones, but when you get into the materials used to build them you’ll quickly find they aren’t meant to undergo too many Gs.
>>65215340A rocket motor is a self-contained catapult that can accelerate the missile for a longer duration lessening the g-force for an equivalent impulse.Rockets are also very cheap.For the most part, a catapult is just a worse rocket launch.>want to launch 100 Tomahawks>Do you carry them one-by one to a catapult to launch them off?>or do you salvo-fire them out of VLS using a tiny rocket motor?
