US Navy Hardens Aircraft Carrier Defenses Against Chinese Anti-Ship Missiles
The US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier recently fired RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles
KRIS OSBORNMAY 20, 2024
By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
The US Navy’s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier recently fired RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles in the Pacific Ocean in what appears to align with the service’s ongoing effort to improve, refine, upgrade and maintain critical elements of its “layered ship defenses.”
While carrier defenses have always been critical to the Navy, the operational concern has been taken to new heights in recent years due to the arrival of Chinese so-called “carrier-killer” missiles reportedly capable of traveling 2,000 miles to attack carriers positioned off the coast. The PLA’s DF-26, for example, is reported to operate with an ability to track and destroy large carriers from distances up to 2,000 miles off shore.
These weapons, often tested by the People’s Liberation Army and referred to in the PRC’s government backed newspapers, present an anti-access/area-denial predicament for US Navy forces interested in projecting power and potentially launching an air-attack campaign from off the coast of mainland China. The existence of these weapons, which include the PLA’s DF-21 capable of traveling 1,000 miles off shore, have generated some concern within the Pentagon and US Navy weapons developers as paradigm-changing threats. Therefore, the Navy continues to take steps to counter these weapons and strengthen its “layered” ship defense systems.
https://warriormaven.com/sea/us-navy-hardens-aircraft-carrier-defenses-against-chinese-anti-ship-missiles
