The Chinese and Russian latest generation of missiles have a range greater than that of carrier-borne tactical aircraft. IOW, our carrier fleet will no longer work. But our SSGN fleet will. Bubbleheads just got promoted over airdales.
Range alone isn’t all that relevant. It’s range coupled with the ability to locate, identify and target our carriers. Otherwise the ChiComs are reduced to firing their long range missiles blind down a suspected bearing.
But yes, the SSGNs are playing a much larger role. With the CVNs providing various levels of support to them. The concept is very similar to the one developed for the Iowas back in the 1980s. Put the Battleship with its long range cruise missles out front, dedicate two CVNs to stay far back but provide air cover and the like. The difference being that the BB’s survivability was based on armor while the SSGN’s is stealth.
It seems like we are losing our strengths one by one while our aging Cold War techniques and equipment get more obsolete while our potential enemies outbuild and out think us with new techniques and ideas and weapons.
I hope there is a lot we don’t know publically about our strengths, because it appears we are losing any level of advantage.
Chinese and Russian S-400s, supersonic anti ship missiles, anti ship ballistic missiles, man made island bases, combined with close proximity to an endless supply of Chinese bases and aircraft does not look like a very likely positive outcome for any attempt for us to do anything in the western Pacific.
Maybe if Obama were to apologize just one more time...