Reasons A U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Is One Of The Safest Places To Be In A War
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorent...safest-places-to-be-in-a-war/?sh=6e02533a2f7a
Carrier air wings can destroy enemy combat systems before they get near. A typical carrier air wing contains dozens of F/A-18 and F-35 fighters equipped with sophisticated sensors and precision-guided weapons. It will also contain radar planes that can see threats hundreds of miles away, and “Growler” electronic warfare aircraft capable of jamming enemy radar and communications. These airframes greatly outclass the forces they will be facing, and can intercept attackers long before they get within targeting range of a carrier.
Carrier sensors are netted with other friendly assets. The Navy has spent decades figuring out how to connect all of its scattered warfighting assets into a single integrated network. So deployed carriers won’t just be relying on their organic sensors to detect threats; they will receive continuous information from surface and undersea warships, from manned and unmanned aircraft, and even from orbiting reconnaissance satellites. Not only will the carrier have detailed awareness of potential dangers, but it will be able to use weapons on remote warships to intercept threats that may be beyond the reach of its on-board systems.
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’s 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.
Carrier defenses are layered to provide in-depth protection. Carrier strike groups arrange their defensive perimeters in layers that reach out hundreds of miles, so that any enemy seeking to get within targeting range must overcome multiple hurdles. That applies to hostile missiles, manned aircraft, submarines or any other potentially threatening system. The virtue of layered defense is that no layer needs to be perfect to protect the carrier. For instance, if each of three layers is 80% effective, the number of successful penetrators (.2 times .2 times .2) would likely be less than one in a hundred.
Carriers are 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.
Carriers have extensive on-board defenses. In addition to the “passive” defenses mentioned in the previous paragraph, each carrier is equipped with active defenses that include multiple air defense radars, surface-to-air missiles, automated guns for dealing with sea-skimming threats, electronic warfare systems for deceiving the sensors and disrupting the command links of incoming threats, and an anti-torpedo system. The Navy has decided to eliminate the anti-torpedo system, but the other organic defensive systems on U.S. carriers are diverse and highly effective.
Secrecy complicates attack plans. Navy insiders say that many of the defensive features incorporated into U.S. carriers are never publicly disclosed. That means that any plan to attack a carrier involves guesswork about what countermeasures might have to be overcome. Aggressors are burdened with so many potential requirements for penetrating to the carrier that in most cases they will be deterred from even trying.
The Ford class of carriers will contain additional defensive advantages. The Navy has begun taking delivery of a new class of aircraft carriers providing even better protection than the already formidable Nimitz class which comprises the current fleet. For instance, the Ford class will provide over 600 megawatts of electricity to power on-board sensors, networks and warfighting systems. The added power may one day facilitate installation of high-power lasers, electromagnetic railguns, and other exotic weapons for which enemies currently have no counters.
