(08-02-2020, 03:54 PM)copycat Wrote:

(08-02-2020, 02:46 PM)mikesez Wrote: I'm not insisting on that.
In fact, I'm the only one on this thread asking questions. I'm the only one here admitting to having stuff to learn.
So here's your question: if UK and France have one big carrier each, and Russia has only one, why do we need 11 or 12?

That question was answered already.  Like it or not the USN is the arbitrator/protector of free shipping lanes.  Do you really trust Russia, China, or North Korea to protect your interests?  Does any non communist country?  We Right now on August 2, 2020 do not have teleporters.  So while you do what you do so well which is to move the goalpost (any ship that can carry a plane is equal to an aircraft carrier) to how many aircraft carriers does America need, l have to ask why are you opposed to making America self sufficient?

I don't understand why you keep beating that dead horse.  
Whether we have 11 aircraft carriers or 20, we have way more than everyone else, combined, which was my point.
I don't think aircraft carriers play a big role in protecting shipping. The main threat to cargo ships, historically, is submarines. While an aircraft carrier would certainly be useful in preventing piracy or breaking blockades, other ships are just as useful.  Guided missiles, guided torpedoes, and artillery still work. Captain Phillips was saved by naval marksmen with rifles, not Navy pilots in planes. The unique ability of the aircraft carrier is that you can stage an air raid from the ocean. But with every country having its own fleet of satellites, knowing where all of our ships are at all times, this kind of surprise attack ability is not nearly as useful as it used to be.

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