Aircraft carriers – The Art of War

Technology and fire power have simplified the Art of War to a game of arithmetic. The Americans have perfected this game for the last 60 plus years to rule the world by its sheer military might. It is a game of I can hit you and you can’t hit me. It is a game of I can drop 100 bombs or 1000 bombs on you and you can’t do anything about it.

The aircraft carriers, other than the nuclear arsenal that could blast this world into dust, are the core of the American war strategy. They are like floating death stars, mobile and can strike at the enemy in every corner of the earth. The only concern of the Americans is the sinking of an aircraft carrier. And to prevent this from happening, the aircraft carriers are protected by several layers of defence, in the air and under the sea and at sea level. The aircraft carriers will be a top priority target and must not be hit.

The aircraft carrier itself is an extremely expensive piece of technology and homes to thousands of soldiers and other war equipment. The supporting force and equipment to protect and defend the carrier are just as expensive, if not more. Acquiring an aircraft carrier is only the beginning of a huge acquisition of hardware and resources before it can go operation. The aircraft carrier is a very destructive and fearsome force. But it can be sunk and would be a priority target to be sunk. A simple example is the deployment of oil rigs in the South China Sea. The oil rigs are like the aircraft carriers, but unarmed, and have become easy targets of the Vietnamese. Hundreds of Vietnamese boats are attempting to ram and sink it. The Chinese responded by cordoning the rigs with hundreds of ships, probably submarines and aircraft to protect the rigs.

So far, there are no enemies of the Americans that are able to pose a threat to an aircraft carrier group. No one has the technology and capability to do so. And this gives the Americans the confidence and eagerness to wage wars, to threaten and attack any country that refuses to tow the line. But this is history. The Chinese purposefully develop anti aircraft carrier missiles, the DF21, to strike and sink aircraft carriers. With a range of more than 3000 nautical miles, it means that any aircraft carrier within that range from the Chinese coast could be sunk by these missiles, a more sophisticated and deadly drone. The DF21s are a cheap way to take on high value targets like aircraft carriers. Each missile would cost only a fraction of the aircraft carrier and China could send a couple of hundreds D21s in waves against a carrier. And it would be very cost effective.

The aircraft carriers to an enemy that is capable of taking it down at long range is just like sitting ducks in a pond. They would no longer be able to deploy their military might, to be able to hit the enemy but not being hit, when the enemy can now hit it first. The formidable floating death stars are floating death platforms and are very vulnerable to attacks. It is still a simple strategy in the Art of War, of I can hit you, you can’t hit me. Now the table is turned. The aircraft carriers cannot be within the range of the DF21s without risking everything on board. It is no longer the untouchable fortress, safe and secure, and extremely deadly.

Technology has caught up with the aircraft carriers. If Iran were to possess enough DF21s, would the Americans dare to move their aircraft carriers into the Indian Ocean or Gulf of Arabia? Would the Americans dare to contemplate sailing the 7th Fleet into the Straits of Taiwan as a show of force to intimidate China?

Anyone thinking of acquiring aircraft carriers must know that the intended enemy will acquire killer drones to sink the carriers. The Art of War is playable from both sides. No one side has the advantage of initiative and military superiority all the time. One can dream on striking the enemy first, preventive and preemptive surgical strikes, so can the enemy. One can keep spending money on more expensive weapons, so can the enemy. The ‘enemy’ will be strategising on every counter moves to defend itself and to strike at the weakest link or most valuable targets of the aggressor.

The enemies are not dead or dumb. What one can do, the enemy will be doing something else to counter every move made. You have aircraft carriers, the enemy will be ready to sink them. The American carrier groups were invincible but no more.

Kopi Level - Yellow