The aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis pulls into San Diego Bay, Aug. 10, 2016, after completing a seven-month deployment. Navy photo by Seaman Austin R. Clayton
Loren B. Thompson, National Interest: Five Reasons U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Nearly Impossible To Sink
Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the signature expression of American military power. No other combat system available to U.S. warfighters comes close to delivering so much offensive punch for months at a time without requiring land bases near the action. As a result, the ten carriers in the current fleet are in continuous demand from regional commanders -- so much so that extended overseas combat tours are becoming the norm.
Nobody really doubts the utility of large-deck carriers. There's nothing else like them, and the United States is the only nation that operates a fleet big enough to keep three or more carriers continuously deployed at all times. However, two issues have come up over and over again since the Cold War ended that have led at least some observers to question why carriers are the centerpiece of America's naval fleet. One concern is that they cost too much. The other is that they are vulnerable to attack.
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WNU Editor: It can be sunk .... especially if this missile reaches its target .... China’s DF-21D Missile Sytem Could Sink US Aircraft Carrier Group (March 11, 2014).
2 comments:
Asking can a US aircraft carrier be sunk is, very respectfully, a silly question. Of course they can be sunk. It would actually be easier to name the nations that cannot sink them as opposed to those who can sink them. Even Iran can sink a US aircraft carrier.
When the critics point out that these cost to much and they are vulnerable to attack, they are correct. In fact, the proper name for these things would be "floating death trap."
The three main threats to the United States are as follows in order of likelihood of occurrence, 1.)an attack by Islamic terrorists and the nations supporting them utilizing some combination of "dirty bombs" and probably suitcase nuclear weapons where the weapons are detonated simultaneously across multiple metropolitan areas killing 10s of millions of people very quickly, 2.)an all out nuclear attack by Russia, and 3.)an invasion of the US mainland by Russia, China, Russia and China, or some combination of these countries and their allies.
Aircraft carriers provide no utility in dealing with any of these threats. While scenario one is more likely, scenario two is more dangerous. The top priorities for US national security should be to expand and upgrade the nuclear arsenal including the means of delivery as well as survivability against a first strike by an enemy and border security. As such, all forces currently deployed around the world need to be redeployed to positions along America's borders and off it's coasts where they can have some utility for American national defense.
Because you posses anti ship missiles does not mean you automatically have the abilty to sink s carrier.
They are heavily protected and screened as the article rightly points out.
Iran would be well down on the list of nations with the ability to sink a carrier, unless it was stupid enough to drop anchor in the gulf
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