National Interest: China's Ballistic Missiles: Why the Navy Fears 'Aircraft-Carrier Killer' Missiles
Many here in Washington believe that the solution is to increase the range of the carrier air wing, but that is easier said than done.
The U.S. Navy’s carrier fleet is increasingly challenged in the Western Pacific as China continues its efforts develop anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities. Some of those systems include the infamous DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile and Xian H-6K bomber armed with advanced air launched cruise missiles.
Many here in Washington believe that the solution to the problem is to increase the range of the carrier air wing so that the ship could standoff 1200 nautical miles offshore. That distance would allow the carrier to remain outside the range of Chinese A2/AD systems. The Navy would accomplish that task by developing a new class of unmanned long-range broadband all-aspect stealth aircraft that could penetrate even the most dense air defenses.
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WNU Editor: The Chinese have been hinting for years that their 'Aircraft-Carrier Killer Missiles' will be able to deter any US naval response against China. But saying you will be able to do it is vastly different from being able to do it. I think the engineering and the necessary software to develop such a missile system is still far away in the future. But that does not mean the US Navy should take it for granted that their carriers are still safe.
