At one point in my (non-military) career, I spent a ton of time onboard a LHA/LHD (the types of carriers mentioned above). They are impressively huge. You had n

At one point in my (non-military) career, I spent a ton of time onboard a LHA/LHD (the types of carriers mentioned above). They are impressively huge. You had no way of knowing if the ship was at sea or not. Even at the time - more then a decade ago - I remember thinking that with anything more competent then a harrier - they could do damage. That said, a carrier force is also a networked force. They have planes and ships all aligned in a sensor network to project power over the horizon. I don't see them doing that with LHDs.