US Navy aircraft carriers continue to
be the centerpiece of the forces
necessary for operating forward. In times of crisis, the first question
leaders ask is where are the carriers?
Aircraft carriers are the most adaptable
and survivable airfields in the world. On any given day sailors aboard an
aircraft carrier and its air wing come
to the fight trained and equipped across
a full range of missions.
They are ready to control the sea, conduct strikes and maneuver across the
electromagnetic spectrum in cyberspace. No other naval force fields a
commensurate range and depth of combat
capabilities.
U.S Navy aircraft carriers also move
fast. according to forbes fast enough, in
fact to outrun most submarines, because
they can sustain speeds of 35 miles per
hour. The Nimitz-Class Carriers
populating the current fleet can move to
anywhere within a 700 square mile area
within 30 minutes.
After 90 minutes, that area grows to over
6,000 square miles. So finding a carrier isn't the same
thing for enemies as successfully
targeting it. By the time their weapons arrive it will
likely be gone.
Due to their size and engine power
american nuclear-powered aircraft
carriers can outrun virtually every
surface ship in most sea states. The rougher it is the more they will be
able to out distance other watercraft.
There are watercraft which can go faster
than carriers in good weather. In bad weather carriers will outrun
almost everything afloat. An
anti-submarine frigate can't possibly
keep up, a destroyer would have a better chance
but still would have problems.
Since the old california class nuclear
cruisers were decommissioned, no american
cruiser can keep up with a carrier. The Russian cure of class battle
cruisers might be able to stay with a
carrier, maybe but not for long
especially in bad weather.
Note that if you look up the official
top speed of american carriers you'll
see mealy-mouthed phrases like in excess
of 30 knots as the navy doesn't want to
say. USS Kitty Hawk once made a sprint in
which she averaged 42 knots by simple
math.
USS Enterprise (CVN-65) allegedly once hit
50 knots. Allegedly the navy refuses to say CVN-65 is now decommissioned and will be
replaced by a Gerald R Ford Class Carrier (CVN-80) which is allegedly, faster
than (CVN-65).
The only surface warships which could
sustain speeds close to or superior to
those of an american nuclear-powered
carrier would be the various fast mine
layers of the World War II era, such as
the british abdeal or manxman both of
which could exceed 44 knots.
Very large transatlantic liners such as
queen mary could also go very fast, for
much the same reasons as the carriers. queen mary once rammed and cut into a
cruiser without slowing down.
Another advantage of u.s aircraft
carriers is nearly impossible to sink. Because of their vast size u.s aircraft
carriers have hundreds of water-tight
compartments. They also have thousands of tons of
armoring and redundancy built into major
on-board systems such as the electrical
wiring.
So that one weapon that might penetrate
a layered defense isn't likely to do
great damage to the carrier.
The vessel won't sink and the crew will
probably be able to work around whatever
damage is incurred to continue
performing their mission. The size of the carrier that some
pundits fear makes it vulnerable to
attack, actually makes it more resilient
than any other warship.
However carriers never deploy alone. whether they are traveling to the
western pacific or the persian gulf or
the north sea ,u.s carriers never deploy
without escorts. These included multiple surface
combatants equipped with the world's
most advanced air and missile defenses, plus nuclear-powered attack subs that
are unsurpassed in their ability to find
and destroy hostile warships on or under
the sea surface.
The surface warships are being upgraded
with a new generation of weapons for
intercepting overhead threats and a
radar a hundred times more powerful than
the legacy system. The submarines are continuously improved
to stay ahead of undersea rivals such as
the russian navy.
