Iran is building a fake aircraft carrier...

[Razgovory]

I guess you could train pilots and seamen to be able to identify such a carrier a long way off.  The US dresses up tanks to look like Russian vehicles for it's OpFor excercise.  I don't know if that would translate into naval or air actions.

[LaCroix]

There's a reasonable theory in the article: propaganda film.

only other possibility i can think of is an expensive message to the US, and it could be both

[celedhring]

You think they're going to be boarding carriers? That's... Well... Ok then.... If you think so.....
What is more likely in such a war however is they would want to attack it with fast attack boats.

Boarding is the only one that makes the remotest sense as a training exercise.  You want your troops to be familiar with the floor plan.

Anything else, such as fast attack boats, suicide motor boats, Silkworms, whatever, it would make more sense to aim at a big piece of paper than to aim at a barge dressed up to look like the Nimitz.

If you've a better theory then let's hear it. Movie set or military training are the only logical ones that come to mind for me.

There's a reasonable theory in the article: propaganda film.

Do the Iranians have access to the floor plan of a Nimitz carrier? 

But yeah, I'll go with the propaganda film theory. There were a lot of noises in the Iranian film industry about a slew of propaganda stuff after Argo was released. It pissed their authorities mightily.

[CountDeMoney]

I, defer to grumbler on this, but isn't the most important feature of the nimitz carrier not it's nature of being a floating air strip but rather it's ability to sail upwind at 30 knots while launching and retrieving aircraft allowing it to launch two engined super sonic fighters rather than small single person cessnas.

Plenty of carriers other than the Nimitz class could do that;  what it's most important feature is the ability to not need to be refueled for years.

100k tons at 30knts is a class only the Nimitzes and Fords can pull off.

They were launching twin-engined supersonic fighters at 30 knots upwind since the days of the Forrestal in the 1950's, Lord Nelson.

[Admiral Yi]

Do the Iranians have access to the floor plan of a Nimitz carrier? 

Dude, I'm trying to show Squeeze how retarded he's being.

[Siege]

You guys are thinking too logically.
These are muslims, their decision making process does not work like yours, and they are capable of very, very, irrational thoughts.
From our point of view.

[Siege]

Question, were there camel caravans during roman and Carthaginian times proding the sahara?
I thought camels were a recent introduction, by the arabs.

[mongers]

You guys are thinking too logically.
These are muslims, their decision making process does not work like yours, and they are capable of very, very, irrational thoughts.
From our point of view.

I sort of said that, but without the blanket statement about all muslims.

But indeed their reasons for doing this don't have to be rational/efficient to the outside world or observer.

[Baron von Schtinkenbutt]

100k tons at 30knts is a class only the Nimitzes and Fords can pull off.

In addition to what my esteemed colleague from Baltimore stated, the shaft horsepower output of the powerplant on every US carrier built after WW2 has been about the same (260k - 280k SHP).  Any ability of newer carriers to move more weight at 30+ knots is the product of hull form and other elements of hydrodynamic engineering, not the nuclear powerplant.

[CountDeMoney]

Do the Iranians have access to the floor plan of a Nimitz carrier? 

They're doing it like the aliens from Galaxy Quest did it:  by watching repeats of The Final Countdown and Learning Channel specials.  Historical documents.

[PDH]

When we see mock-ups of Zeros on the deck, we know we are screwed.

[The Brain]

Do the Iranians have access to the floor plan of a Nimitz carrier? 

They're doing it like the aliens from Galaxy Quest did it:  by watching repeats of The Final Countdown and Learning Channel specials.  Historical documents.

Europe.

[mongers]

It could be a device for smuggling oil to western oil refineries. 

[Razgovory]

You guys are thinking too logically.
These are muslims, their decision making process does not work like yours, and they are capable of very, very, irrational thoughts.
From our point of view.

"Our point of view"?

[grumbler]

It could be a device for smuggling oil to western oil refineries. 

I like this idea; what we are seeing is a cover that fits over an Iranian oil tanker, which then sails through the Straits of Hormuz pretending to be the Nimitz.

Please be standing clear of this vessel; we are carriers of aircraft and... IGNORE THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN!