Exactly. The point of a ballistic missile is that it's ballistic - the trajectory is defined during the launch phase with only limited control during midcourse

Exactly. The point of a ballistic missile is that it's ballistic - the trajectory is defined during the launch phase with only limited control during midcourse phase and essentially none during the terminal phase. This is fine if you're delivering a payload against a stationary target with an exact fix, and with a nuclear payload you get to be smart about fuzing to achieve maximum overpressure if your downrange distance isn't quite right. For a target that's less than precisely fixed, and that's maneuvering (which is going to be a case for a carrier battle group), and for a conventional explosive munition, this isn't good enough.