With its some 12 operational carriers and 1,400 combat aircraft, the U.S. Navy is undoubtedly the most potent conventional power-projection force in the world. Its pilots are also among the world's best. Of course, Naval aviators considers themselves one notch better than their land-based brethren in the USAF if for nothing other than the fact that they have to land their aircraft on carrier decks as they pitch and roll in the open sea -- no simple task. Physiological tests on Navy pilots have registered higher crew heartrates during carrier landings than during all other tasks, including combat. If the Navy has a weakness, it is the use of aging, unstealthy aircraft like the A-6 and A-7. Budgetary constraints have kept these older types in service for longer than originally planned.
