As I understand it, back in the 80s US carriers were regularly destroyed in joint naval exercises with Australia by diesel submarines (inexpensive ones of the k

As I understand it, back in the 80s US carriers were regularly destroyed in joint naval exercises with Australia by diesel submarines (inexpensive ones of the kind owned by all of our enemies). They're very quiet when running on batteries. The US navy would respond by changing the "rules" so that the ships were not considered sunk — I imagine in much the same way that the Japanese navy brass changed the rules after cadets sank their fleet in wargames played in their preparations for Midway. Putting so many eggs in one basket is scary at the best of times, but the US carrier fleet is the worst of all worlds — hugely symbolic and stupendous sunk cost (no pun intended). Not only are they ridiculously expensive in and of themselves, virtually everything else in the Navy (and thanks to the F35, the air Force) is constrained by its role being defined in terms of how it functions as part of a carrier task force. This isn't just a navy problem, it's a defense and foreign policy problem, and a fiscal disaster.