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> most of our big flat-tops will be sunk in the first couple months Carriers as they exist today may well become as obsolete as the Battleships of WW2, but the

> most of our big flat-tops will be sunk in the first couple months Carriers as they exist today may well become as obsolete as the Battleships of WW2, but there isn't a navy in the world that can currently get enough firepower inside the envelope of a single U.S. carrier battlegroup to sink a carrier, let alone all of them.

dforrestwilson 11y ago
Lob enough hypersonic missiles at something as big as a carrier, and things will get through. Momentum alone will carry a "defeated" missile to the target if it's going fast enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21 The carrier is becoming a relic.
- nickff 11y ago
  Current hypersonic missiles require extensive guidance to intercept their targets (i.e. hit them); momentum will carry a defeated hypersonic missile right into the water. The Dongfeng 21 is a ballistic missile, and not usually referred to as hypersonic; the latter usually refers to cruise missiles capable of travel at > Mach 3. In addition, the DF-21 is very unlikely to be used in a conventional war, as it may look like a tactical nuclear weapon. The DF-21 is also relatively easy to intercept, and could only be successful if used in a saturation attack; the Wikipedia article is written more like an advertisement than a fact-based informational piece.
  - dforrestwilson 11y ago
    Yes your point is valid now. How much does it cost to develop and build an aircraft carrier? How much does it cost to develop and build better anti-ship missiles? How hard would combatants object to use of tactical nukes over the ocean? Why are we still chucking rockets with men attached to them into the air when a rocket without men is cheaper and able to pull more Gs?
- rhino369 11y ago
  Targeting is really hard. Carriers move around and these are susceptible to electronic counter measures.
deleted 11y ago
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dforrestwilson 11y ago

Lob enough hypersonic missiles at something as big as a carrier, and things will get through. Momentum alone will carry a "defeated" missile to the target if it's going fast enough. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21 The carrier is becoming a relic.

nickff 11y ago
Current hypersonic missiles require extensive guidance to intercept their targets (i.e. hit them); momentum will carry a defeated hypersonic missile right into the water. The Dongfeng 21 is a ballistic missile, and not usually referred to as hypersonic; the latter usually refers to cruise missiles capable of travel at > Mach 3. In addition, the DF-21 is very unlikely to be used in a conventional war, as it may look like a tactical nuclear weapon. The DF-21 is also relatively easy to intercept, and could only be successful if used in a saturation attack; the Wikipedia article is written more like an advertisement than a fact-based informational piece.
- dforrestwilson 11y ago
  Yes your point is valid now. How much does it cost to develop and build an aircraft carrier? How much does it cost to develop and build better anti-ship missiles? How hard would combatants object to use of tactical nukes over the ocean? Why are we still chucking rockets with men attached to them into the air when a rocket without men is cheaper and able to pull more Gs?
rhino369 11y ago
Targeting is really hard. Carriers move around and these are susceptible to electronic counter measures.

deleted 11y ago

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