Are aircraft carriers obsolete? With anti-ship missile technology, can we afford to lose these 14 billion dollar ships?

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 10:05:29 -0400

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Apr 14 at 2019 9:28 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sun, 14 Apr 2019 21:28:13 -0400

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member couple thoughts:
- it may change how carriers are deployed/employed but won't negate the carrier as a power projection platform
- the carrier battle group is an envelop that provides surface, subsurface, and air defense around the carriers. The carrier battle group has means to deal with antiship missiles, including the carriers themselves. The Chinese PLAN ballistic missile method is new, but the cruisers and destroyers have missile systems that can engage a TBM. If this current block doesn't, they'll deploy a new block that can.

Response by LCDR Joshua Gillespie made Apr 15 at 2019 8:48 AM

LCDR Joshua Gillespie — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 08:48:12 -0400

Great question. It seems that every time a new technology enters the battlespace, we begin to wonder if the previous generation's "wonder weapon" is obsolete...Billy Mitchell sure drove that point home in the years between WWI and WWII. My own humble opinion is that the carrier will become obsolete once the aircraft is obsolete. Until then, it's going to be worth the risk (and the cost) to "harden" the CBG against these threats, rather than consider them obsolete. The minute we can call in CAS from a satellite, we're probably looking at "Space Force" as a serious concept.

Response by CW3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 15 at 2019 11:50 AM

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 11:50:13 -0400

Can't remember where I saw it over the last week or so Colonel. It was about the Brahmos?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 15 at 2019 2:23 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 15 Apr 2019 14:23:57 -0400

I can see tactics and doctrine changing as we face new weapons and our countermeasures. The utility of aircraft carriers is dependent on the capabilities of the enemy and the progression of wars. It is imperative that we reach air superiority and air supremacy. The aircraft carrier will remain a major power projection platform.