One of the cornerstones of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was a promise to revitalize our military. There’s no doubt that it needs some help. These days it appears that the majority of our military units are not combat ready, and some aircraft squadrons have been forced to scrounge for parts in aviation museums. Trump’s response has been to urge Congress to increase the military’s budget, and drastically increase troop and ship numbers. Most notably, he wants to bring the US Navy’s aircraft carrier count up to 12.
However, there’s only one problem with that proposition. In this day and age aircraft carriers may be overrated. In fact, they may be downright obsolete when pitted against a modern military. That’s because they’re shockingly easy to sink with cheap weapon systems, which is also the opinion of a highly regarded British think tank:
The HMS Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s new aircraft carrier, could be sunk by a volley of missiles that cost a tiny fraction of what she is worth, according to a report from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) security think-tank.
The report argues that international rivals like Russia and China have focused their energy on finding ways to counter the West’s obsession with large, marquee projects like the HMS Queen Elizabeth.
“Missiles costing (much) less than half a million pounds a unit could at least disable a British aircraft carrier that costs more than £3 billion,” the report suggests.
“Indeed, a salvo of ten such missiles would cost less than £3.9 million.”
The authors argue that the UK and her allies face an “increased peer and near-peer threat from Chinese and Russian long-range precision missiles, which threaten large land, maritime and air platforms.”
But you’ll never hear that from our military, and especially not from the military-industrial complex. That’s because defense contractors can make a killing off of building these multi-billion dollar warships. They, being war profiteers, don’t really care if they’ll sink at the hands of second-rate military powers. Our own military and political establishment will never admit to how vulnerable our vast fleet of carriers are to missiles, because as the old saying goes, “generals are always fighting the last war.”
That’s why you should always question the military brass, when they start begging for more money and more advanced weapon systems. The truth is, we don’t need 12 aircraft carriers (especially when most countries with large military budgets only have 1 or 2), and the military doesn’t need more money. What the military needs is more fiscal responsibility.
The Defense Department is in no position to ask for more tax dollars, when the Pentagon can’t account for $6.5 trillion. These people shouldn’t be trusted with our money, when they spend over a trillion dollars on a fighter jet that barely works. We shouldn’t give them an additional cent, when there are hundreds of military bases all over the world in places where we have no business being.
Donald Trump’s heart is in the right place on this issue. The military is in bad shape, after enduring budget cuts and 16 years of constant warfare. But the military doesn’t need more money, and a whole new fleet of aircraft and ships. He needs to drain the swamp at the Pentagon, take Mattis’ advice on closing unneeded military bases, and pull our military out of countless small conflicts that don’t serve our interests. He should also put more pressure on NATO nations to uphold their promise to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, which would allow us to reduce our military presence in Europe.
For too long, the military has been trying to do more with less. Our military has been weakened, because our forces are stretched too thin. Taking these measures would give our military more resources and time to recuperate and reach combat readiness, without increasing the military’s budget. A good first start, would be to stop building incredibly expensive aircraft carriers that are little more that floating coffins, and use those additional funds to help military units that have long been neglected.
You could do it for $425 with a drone bought at Best Buy…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnz-H2txbzo
Those warplanes they carry are sure not obsolete. The layers of defense around a carrier is more formidable than most realize. There’s also a reason no other power has attacked much less sunk one since WW2.
most americans don’t have any idea how a carrier could come under attack by 10 missiles at one time….how about a HUNDRED at once? open yer minds, and i think you will find MANY possibilities. the author has definitely given some THOUGHT, which is more than MOST americans can do.
True enough, but the latest innovations in defense of Carriers like lasers and railguns can defeat the missiles for pennies per shot.
Its an open question for now I think. 🙂
IMHO it’s all a scam, I worked for the Gov;; I think it’s impossible for them to have misplaced all the $ they say they have. I’ve been out 17 years but I’d be happy to bet LASERS and several other weapons have come a LOT farther than anyone cares to talk about. I know they were shooting down drones with them in the early 1970’s, in New Mexico. Our military budget hides a bunch of stuff.
MAYBE YOU SHOULD KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT PARANOID !
if you think the people who might shoot at our ships are so stupid they don’t know everything I said; and a lot more, assuming you are correct; they couldn’t hit our ships with a spit wad at three feet.
If there’s one thing the Chinese are good at, it’s making large numbers of cheap knock-offs. They may not be as good as the original, but it’s hard to swat 100 flys at once.
and when have we been at WAR with a super-power?
The author doesn’t know shit about the military. The ability to transport and deploy an air force is essential to any future warfare especially on multiple fronts. Countermeasures for these missile threats exist and are ongoing.
Ohhh. Its highly possible and probable sooner or later that one will be sunk. Carriers have lots of defenses. However people in general are pretty smart.
I saw a Russian missile demonstration about 5 years ago of a anti ship system. Those things are FAST. I heard that the calculated time from possible detection to detonation was only 4 seconds when fired from below the horizon. The test we saw we didnt even see the missile untill it struck the target. It was boom then the ship was gone. The missiles were in containers that were floated almost flush with the water surface and were fired from below the horizon. The target didnt stand a chance.
“However people in general are pretty smart.” HAHAHA… No… just f’n no. People in general are dumb as feces.
Aircraft carriers don’t just wander around by themselves… EVER. They are surrounded by a battle fleet designed to take out any threat to the carrier, even if it means placing itself between the missile/torpedo and the carrier.
Can they be sunk? Of course they can. Is it anything like the author describes? Hell no.
Those are the slow ones. The Zircon missile will over 250 miles in just over 3 minutes.
Another pointless opinion.
Article: The Defense Department is in no position to ask for more tax dollars, when the Pentagon can’t account for $6.5 trillion. These people shouldn’t be trusted with our money, when they spend over a trillion dollars on a fighter jet that barely works. We shouldn’t give them an additional cent, when there are hundreds of military bases all over the world in places where we have no business being.
**I agree why do we have 48 Military bases in 23 Countries in Africa? Big friggin waste of Tax Payer monies. And every country we invade when get dumped on with their refugees, seeking political asylum that were friendly to the US Military, when it all turns to shit. How about enlist all the Blacks in America to go fight in Africa then just leave them there. Same with the Muslims and Gews. Get the f*ck out of America you Scum suckers. Cut the Military Budget in half and close half of the US bases in foreign countries.
Agreed.
Amazing hubris and I guess you believe the rubbish you write. The US has not picked a fight with a capable military. Attacking countries with next to no military proves nothing.
In many exercises subs have easily attacked the carrier and also suck the screening warships.
The hubris is amazing. Carriers are sitting ducks against advanced militaries. In various war games the defenses around a carrier have easily been breached.
“There’s also a reason no other power has attacked much less sunk one since WW2.”
The Korea’s, Vietnams, Grenada’s, Iraq’s, Afghanistan’s, Libya’s and Somalia’s don’t have anything. No large target is immune from a major technologically advanced nation. MIC also understands that if a Carrier is lost against such a power its, “Schools Out”. Carrier vulnerability will not be a discussion post WWIII, re-establishing civilization will be.
But carriers may end up NOT being pitted against modern military, like Russia or China, only second rate powers.
While this article may be correct – and that’s why people STAT wars, as often no one really knows – I have also read articles talking about the massive chain of command that is needed to launch these carrier killers – it ain’t just some guy with an itchy trigger finger drawing a bead through his iron sights and pulling a trigger. Are they right? Let’s hope we never find out….
Bull, I can remember being told that 4-6 Harpoon style anti-ship missiles would sink a US carrier, this was back in the 1980-1990’s. Even the old Soviet Navy/Air Force knew how many (of each type) could disable, or kill, an American carrier.
There is a reason that carriers do not sail alone….
Russia has some good weapon systems. I still question whether Chinese weapon systems are capable of anything worthwhile. None of what they’ve built has been tested in war. While they may have worked in drills, war is the real testing ground. China hasn’t even been at war with anyone since 1979 in Vietnam and they got their asses handed back to them. Maybe there’s not so much to worry about with China after all.
I’ve read where quite a bit of Chinese circuitry is sold to our military and used on a lot of our aircraft. Very comforting.
They’ve been supplying to North Korea
probably using them to do their testing.
Don’t put anything past chink commies.
Do NOT make the HUGE mistake of underestimating your enemy – especially those no good, slimy, dog-eating Chinks & Gooks…
Our navy is really only good for intimidating 3rd world countries.
That’s about the silliest comment on this forum.
An aircraft carrier either has to be close enough to shore to be in the range of those cheap missiles if they are land based or they have to be launched from a ship on the water which will have trouble getting within range to launch them without the carrier and the other ships with it destroying it before it gets close enough. Same would apply to enemy aircraft, and maybe more so.
If carriers are as vulnerable as the article suggests, then all ships are equally or more vulnerable and we need to get rid of all of them and use Subs and ICBM’s and ICCM’s exclusively.
But that isn’t the case.
Regime change begins at home. Get rid of the Neocons.
Amusing. The latest generation of missiles can be launched outside the defence perimeter of a carrier group. A sub could remain undetected and launch within a couple of miles.
The subs like to get in the way of the fleet and just drift. They can launch within 40 miles.
I don’t know who made the quote and I loosely paraphrase,
“most military leaders are still fighting the last war”.
Aircraft carriers were WWII state of the art. The author is correct in that much cheaper missiles can eliminate a carrier. Carriers have their place, but I’m not certain we need so many of them.
We can park 3 of them off N. Korea, but we can’t use them, because of politics, and the Chinese or Russians could easily sink them with relatively cheap land or submarine based missiles.
I think we should spend our money on submarines, new missile systems, autonomous hunter killer systems, High energy systems such as LASERS, and hypersonic kill vehicles just to mention a few. Plan for the next war not the last one.
Our technology is advancing faster than we can build to defend against it.
The new English carrier is using Win XP based computers and that is crazy!
We have to fire all the old politically correct crowd and devise systems that makes War so darned expensive and difficult that only Moslems want to fight them anymore. Then we can clean up the mess
left over.
Win XP is the best Windows operating system. I’d rather have that than 7 or 10, if my other software were compatible.
No other nation is a threat to the US, the US is a threat to all other nations. Does the truth even matter anymore? Dissent has been criminalized and this nation suffers from neglect of the people’s rights to control their government, rendered powerless to enact any change whatsoever. Fake news, fake money, fake food, fake freedoms and fake democracy. Never ending and ever increasing untold billions poured down the warmongering rathole to wipe out any vestige of decency and humanity. Make America Great Again…Hogwash!
OK, thanks for clearing all that up for us.
Most people don’t know about the SS22 Sunburn misscle that Russia carries, the fuckers have a Nuclear under torpedo that the goes 275 mph under water, yes under fucking water. But the F35 turkey is one crazy fucking jet, all the rumors about it being a lame as turkey. That jet carrier the fastest air to air missles and has the ability to hit targets over 200 miles away, carrier tactical nukes, explosive armor piercing munitions. The carrier has the new missles to take down the SS22 sunburns and the F22 travels are mach 4, this is another secret that most people don’t know, that I know. The S400, and S 500 cant even take down the f22, but can take down the F35, but the F35 WILL spot that misscle and take down that missle with it aim missles. In Real war with the F35’s on the carries, these jets will run the first strike long before the enemy comes in close enough, and will nuke the destroyer and carrier groups of the enemy. If North Korea does something bad, the F35’s will teach Kim a lesson he will never forget. The B1B lancer, the F35’s and the F22 going into North Korea will decapitate that country in 30 mins, devastating the entire amry in under 30 mins. They wont even know what hit them. So keep listening to the bullshit about the F35, most people don’t know what the fuck they are talking about. The truth is that Its now a good air to air fighter, but I can take out tanks, it can nuke land targets, and take out destroyers and carrier at sea before they detect them. The jet accelerates very fast, its like a dragster in mid air and has one of the fastest acceleration of any fighter, its goes in strikes and gets the hell out so fast before the enemy gets to respond. north korea will wake up to massive explosions and will not have time to respond, and by day light the f16’s comes in, and this will china a few lessons up close and person in their back yard to show the chi-coms that the US military does not fuck around. One wrong move buy china, the F35’s will attack from Tiawon taking out the entire carrier and destroyer group before the get to Tiawon. China is fucking with fire, the chips have been replaced and the F35 is no longer hackable. Sorry chi-coms, I hope you all can swim very well.
HCKS.
Apparently the author of this article hasn’t ever heard of AEGIS or CIWS.
Apparently you have no idea. Aegis can be jammed and CIWS is useless against the current generation of Mach 6+ missiles. Even if they are not hypersonic trying to deal with a salvo would be impossible.
Apparently you have not heard of ‘jamming’ and missiles that travel around Mach 6. US warships are sitting ducks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwoGkDGDtS8
F35, more info on is nuclear strike capability. One F35 carrier designed for the F5 can take out the entire chi-com island fleet with nukes. So you fucking chi-coms better take notice.
HCKS.
If we go nuclear, do you think any of us will care about whether the F-35 is superior to a piper cub or not?
history show it takes a lot of HE to sink a carrier. they are very compartmentized. Look at the USS Forrestal, a missile cooked off one of the planes by either static electricity, or Juan Mc insane hit his afterburner and fried one on the plane behind him (doubtful), but who knows, as he crashed 3 planes in his career. The fire and bombs exploding killed about 130 crew, and they kept it afloat. Cheap missiles don’t have a heavy payload. Id be more concerned with a torpedo volley.
Yes, remember The U.S.S. Franklin.
No one gets physics here. A Mach 6 missile has not only a warhead but massive kinetic energy given its velocity. The impact alone will decimate a smaller vessel and punch a massive hole in a carrier. Also the moniker cheap is misleading. These missiles are created using advanced technologies packaged in an asymmetrical strategy.
The United States government is in the hands of (((J..s))).
That’s our problem.
The Federal (((Rothschild J.w))) Reserve (((theft & counterfeit))) Bank (((Cartel Gangsters)))
That’s our problem.
Is real hell using our soldiers to die for and kill for the goals of Is real hell
That’s our problem
If President Trump wants to make us safe, somebody tell him to stop bringing in “refugees”.
BTW when you going to build that wall, President Trump??
I want a wall just like the wall Is real hell built to keep out the Palestinians.
__ BTW, who paid for Is Real Hell’s wall? I don’t think it was the Palestinians.
__ I wonder how many Palestinians are inside and under the cement wall in Is real hell??
__ ?
You might find Hoffa under there.
Personally, I’ve always thought Hoffa probably disappeared in order to get a sex change.
The Tranny conspiracy:
That’s our other problem !!
?
Christians who are deceived haven’t read the Bible.
God makes it clear that He still has covenants with the Jews which He promises to fulfill.
The Bible states that the Jews will continue as a special nation of people, that He has the nation inscribed on the palms of His hands, and that the Jewish people will continue to be “a nation before Me forever”.
“God has not rejected His people whom he foreknew” Romans 11:1-2
The Lord Jesus Himself will rule and reign from Mount Zion, the city of God, the new Jerusalem.
Carriers could be associated the status of the battleship prior to Pearl Harbor? But in my opinion it would take many missiles to sink a carrier, have to use nuke.
The next war will show the new weapons system of the future as The carrier came out of WWII.
Perhaps airborne or sub surface weapon systems that carry large quantities of satellite guided cruise missiles or reprogrammed weapon systems. We have the entire earth mapped. Can put a missile downtown anywhere.
Like ISIS, ground units can have drones that can drop explosives or detonate over an enemies fighting position.
After this war, go back to bows and arrows, no one can fight, just too dangerous to deploy weapon systems.Becomes too destructive.
So all we have is bad,built for by g
one days yep I hope all the world believes it. Pop corn is on me who’s bringing the beer and chips it’s going to be one hell of a party.Hell I don’t drink but I will though money at the beer and booze fund!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carriers are used against small powers to enforce the globalist agenda. No conventional weapons system has high survivability, with the possible exception of stealth aircraft, against a modern large power. They are a crown jewel of MIC and Congress as everyone feeds off the buck as their manufacture is very labor intensive.
In WWII, a US Fleet carrier, Essex class, could be sunk with a few 500-pound bombs or even a hit from a cheap Zero aimed by a fledgling pilot. A few torpedo hits would also do the trick.
Very cheap, but they worked.
This has always been the case. You can kill a General with a single mortar round fired by a kid from Iowa two miles away.
Totally pointless article.
And you can kill a 500lb grizzly with a 22 rimfire handgun with one shot……if you hit him in the only one spot that can do it. Getting that shot placement is the challenging part.
Common knowledge.
Everyone of em has a shooter, always.
And more than that…..but we don’t get to know everything now do we?
Secrets for military weapons are a good thing, when they’re on our side!!
At the start of World War II, the strength of a navy was based on the number of battleships. Aircraft carriers were a novelty. At the start of World War III, the aircraft carrier is the measure of strength. I really hope that I am wrong, but we always seem to be ready to fight the last war and not the oncoming war. I just hope that they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves that the public doesn’t know about. That would also include shooting down incoming ICBMs every time.
Aside from the antisemetic rant from B from CA,the post replies were very thiughtful. I would like military bases a broad and here shut if we don’t need them. Good luck w/that. Politicians prevented Davis-Mouthan from shutting the A-10 down. We don’t need the A-10,it’s a waste.
It’s the ramifications of hitting a CVN that prevents a country from actually attempting it.
Let’s hope that the carrier protection is better than the defenses of the USS Fitzgerald. It couldn’t even see a freighter! If major nations go to war, the carrier will become obsolete. Missile swarms, and electronic counter measures make the last training mission look worthless. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face.
Yeah. Like the Navy never anticipated multiple inbound targets. I can’t give you specifics because of my debrief,(some of you vets need to remember that), but I’ll laugh all the same.
I was on CVN-72 during Desert Storm. We have a layer of missile defenses protecting the group from SM-2 missiles and AEGIS radar from our Cruisers and Destroyers. Today, The Navy has longer range missiles and better systems. NOTHING is unsinkable however. The Russian have a wing launched “KITCHEN” anti ship missile that can cause major issues. But, The new Russian sub launched hypersonic Zircon missile may spell doom for the fleet.
An interesting article on what most people here probably know is at veteranstoday.com titled: Scott Bennett, Patriot Truth Warrior part 2 dated today. Also a video on that page titled: Shell Game: Interview with a Military Whistle-blower. This is more confirmation of the fake war on terror and many of the US players involved.
BE SURE AND LET ALL OUR ENEMIES KNOW HOW EASY IT IS TO SINK ONE OF OUR CARRIERS DAN……YOU MORON !
ummm… Three words that Eisenhower warned us about and we ignored him…Military Industrial Complex.
Gen Smedley Butler warned us before that. “War is a racket”.
Any discussion beyond that is moot. You know who sinks Aircraft carriers? The racketeers, the military industrial complex. As far as the insanity about people revealing how to do it..Its complete brainwashing. The greatest enemy ALREADY KNOWS HOW TO DO IT, the MIC built them, the MIC sinks them.
Quit hyperventilating Nam Marine. You will live longer.
Deal with them and you wont have carriers sunk anymore.
Neal Jensen
You took the words from my mouth. Wars are caused by and directly serve MIC & the Globalists at the expense of “We The People”
“I was a racketeer for Wall Street”
USMC Major General two time recipient of the Medal Of Honor, Smedley Butler “The Fighting Quaker”
I live right next to a military base. Not only will I get to see nukes being launched but I will get to see incoming nukes as well. Jealous?
The advance of directed energy weapons with computerized firing systems will render both conventional aircraft and missiles obsolete in short order. Basically anything hostile that crests the horizon will be dead
What we need to do is change our foreign policy to “mind your own business” and we’ll mind ours. We as a country are bankrupt.
It’s comical reading all of these replys. My gun is bigger better faster than your gun. I have a 6.5 trillion dollar super secret super duper gun no one knows about. Fools. Every last one. Go to Hell.