Oh God the anti carrier crowd is back.
For the cost of the carrier (not including its escort ships and planes — several billions more) we could have had
several nuclear attack submarines
multiple times that non-nuclear but silent submarines
over 100 small silent submarines
etc. etc.
Which would be easier for a potential enemy to defeat — one huge target, or many multiple targets with varying capabilities?
I think the Yamato and Musahsi would both have been deadly if the Japanese still had enough air power to protect it from air attack.
I tend to agree with #1 and #3.
If you replace all of the pieces on the back row of the chessboard with pawns, you get a lot of standardization and in the right circumstances, a pawn can take out a queen.
But, oh, how you limit your options.
I dunno. Null sec ratting with a Thanatos or a Chimera is pretty profitable.
See the South Korean missile test. Fired from 300 miles away and they hit a bullseye. Now replace the target and make it any navy ship. One missile will not be the only one fired at the ship.
the power of a carrier is the ability to launch attacks but not BE attacked.
That was true for a LONG time because the range of most aircraft was longer than the best anti-ship missiles of the time.
That’s no longer true:
Even POOR countries have the tech to reach out and threaten our carriers with missiles.
To be close enough to launch airstrikes the carrier must come within the range of some missiles.
We could easily correct the equation with robotic strike aircraft; Northrop-Grumman spent about a billion bucks and had one almost ready.
Suddenly cancelled, now that program exists only as an UNstealthy, flying robotic gas station, and even that role will not be ready for at least 1 or 2 years.
It’s original role as a stealthy attack plane is GONE.
You have to
1. Find it.
2. Target it. (Not the same thing)
3. Maintain target track long enough to get a sufficient number of weapons through the Carrier Battle Group AAW screen. How many is that? It depends.
All three of these are non-trivial problems.
"Ceterum censeo Islam esse delendam."
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
“what distinguishes the Ford are its technological improvements. “
A maternity ward, a catapult that is very problematic, fewer hands for damage control, highly automated and dependent on tech. And designed around the least capable navy attack plane built in the jet era...the F-35.
The Yamato’s guns had a range of 26 miles.
An F18 has a combat radius of 450 miles.
They are both large ships, but that is about the only thing they have in common.
Hopefully todays super-carrier centric navy will have its Billy Mitchell moment and realize the future is in drowns and swarms of mini-drones. It doesn’t take a 100,000 tons of big target to pack the punch of an Alpha Strike anymore.