The aircraft carrier has been the centerpiece of the United States Navy since World War 2. Before that war, battleships reigned supreme, and the U.S. Navy’s emphasis was on heavy artillery and good shooting. The 1941-1945 Pacific theater changed all that, most notably at the Battle of Midway, when the opposing forces’ ships never came within visual contact.
Now, our modern, nuclear-powered supercarriers roam the oceans, 11 of them currently, surrounded by the smaller ships of their task groups. Those smaller ships are the shield, providing missile and air defense as well as defense against submarines. The carrier is the sword, striking directly at the enemy.
Recently the BBC’s South East Asia Correspondent, Jonathan Head, visited the USS Carl Vinson, a Nimitz-class carrier. He’s worried that our super-carriers may be obsolete. Is he right?
Even after years of…
