"But can they sink ships?" - This part seems a bit strange. While I agree that most surface ships don't carry anti-ship missiles, it seems like there are plent

"But can they sink ships?" - This part seems a bit strange. While I agree that most surface ships don't carry anti-ship missiles, it seems like there are plenty of carrier based aircraft capable of launching their own anti-ship missiles, kind of like these being developed: https://www.gpsworld.com/u-s-navy-air-force-order-anti-ship-missiles-from-lockheed/ https://www.gpsworld.com/u-s-navy-air-force-order-anti-ship-... The exocet (certainly not a new anti-ship missile) can also be launched in flight: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exocet