Navy Flight Deck Operations

Warfare has changed. This week an Iranian tanker was struck by two anti-ship missiles.  Why do we spend multiple hundreds of billions of dollars for even one aircraft carrier when they can be taken out by a cheap missile?

And why do we spend so much money for the  Defense Department when proper consultation or diplomacy could have prevented this week's Turkish and Kurdish debacle?

My head spins.

They haven’t been taken out by one would be my first response. Can they? Maybe. While we know all about Sunburn and all the various anti-ship missiles and hyper sonic, wave-skipping cruise missiles they’re all untested against a CBG.

I don’t claim to fully apprehend the real value or lack thereof of carriers, but I would note two of our most likely adversaries in anything close to an even fight are desperately trying to both build carriers and reach a level of operational competency similar to our own.

Oil tankers aren't usually fitted with Phalanx CIWS.

Also, what Jackson Fusion said.