Are Aircraft Carriers the New West Berlin? (Jake A. Douglas) from the National Interest
“... carriers are far less likely to operate at such close ranges in the future,” and “the wisdom of deploying carriers within range of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles… is doubtful at best.” Yet strangely, policymakers still plan on using them. ... How do we explain this? I would suggest that a very fruitful debate over US military strategy has missed something crucial: Washington might try to use carriers for deterrence despite or even because of their vulnerability. ..."
There has been a substantial crosscurrent within defense policy circles arguing that US reliance on aircraft carriers is obsolete and destined for a brutal wake-up call when it confronts China's anti-carrier missiles discussed above. The problem I have with this assessment is that the vast majority of global adversaries the US confronts DO NOT involve China -- and against most of the rest of the world, the US carriers are more than adequate ... for now.
“... carriers are far less likely to operate at such close ranges in the future,” and “the wisdom of deploying carriers within range of anti-ship ballistic and cruise missiles… is doubtful at best.” Yet strangely, policymakers still plan on using them. ... How do we explain this? I would suggest that a very fruitful debate over US military strategy has missed something crucial: Washington might try to use carriers for deterrence despite or even because of their vulnerability. ..."
There has been a substantial crosscurrent within defense policy circles arguing that US reliance on aircraft carriers is obsolete and destined for a brutal wake-up call when it confronts China's anti-carrier missiles discussed above. The problem I have with this assessment is that the vast majority of global adversaries the US confronts DO NOT involve China -- and against most of the rest of the world, the US carriers are more than adequate ... for now.
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