Generations of Aircraft

Enterprise's nuclear heart has remained the same for a half-century. It still uses four steam catapults to hurl twin-engine combat jets into the air at more than 180 mph. But the aircraft based on the vessel have changed greatly over the decades.The first air wing assigned to the Enterprise was equipped with the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs , capable of flying at Mach 2.2 (1472 mph) and delivering 18,000 pounds of bombs. Fifty years later, the main strength of the current wing lies in its Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, with a top speed of Mach 1.8 (1190 mph) and a bomb load almost the same as the Phantom II.Don't let the raw numbers deceive you. The new aircraft don't need to post such a gaudy top speed, as they win hands-down in stealth and agility. Weapons technology, too: Smart guided weapons mean a single Super Hornet can accurately deliver more bombs on target than 30 Phantoms.Enterprise may not be around to see it, but the electronics revolution that bolstered the power of its planes is also about to deliver another twist. The Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System (UCLASS) project could begin to edge out manned aircraft in the years to come (the Navy is already starting to test the X-47B drone on carriers). But even here the technology is not quite as novel as you might think: Back in the 1960s the US Navy was launching Firebee drones from aircraft carriers to carry out reconnaissance over Vietnam.