A formidable "nemesis" of US aircraft carriers.

The use of aircraft carriers in potential maritime conflict scenarios could inflict significant damage on the U.S. Navy, as potential adversaries like Russia and China have long equipped themselves with weapons capable of effectively countering enemy super-heavy vessels.

Photo: US Navy

That's the opinion of Robert Farley, a commentator and military expert for the National Interest magazine.

According to this expert, Russia and China could use classic torpedoes designed to destroy ground targets against US aircraft carriers.

"Nobody knows how many torpedoes a modern aircraft carrier can withstand before sinking, but it's important to recognize that a single torpedo-induced collision can significantly complicate the outcome of a combat mission," said Robert Farley.

A particular threat to American super-heavy ships is high-precision cruise missiles, a type of weapon that both Russia and China possess.

Experts emphasize that this type of weapon renders the "prey" incapable of timely evasive action. Furthermore, direct contact with a cruise missile on board a ship will result in a complete loss of combat capability.

The most serious threat to aircraft carriers is modern anti-ship ballistic missiles, such as the mobile air defense systems deployed on many of the US Navy's "super-heavy" carriers, which lack the capability to destroy targets with ballistic trajectories.

In addition, Farley drew attention to the "unbelievably high cost" of aircraft carriers, and the "fear of combat casualties" directly related to the exorbitant cost of American flagships.

"Russia and China don't need to destroy American aircraft carriers to make them disappear completely," the expert commented. "They simply need to develop weapons that can make the use of super-heavy carriers in combat 'dangerous' and 'unfounded'."

According to TPO