> Not to mention these ship killers can be launched from just about any vessel afloat. <
That’s one thing that concerns me. Iran, or North Korea, or China could put one of those things on a tramp freighter, along with a trained crew.
Could that freighter get close enough to a carrier battle group to get off a decent shot?
It’s also a concern in the Hormuz Straits, with little room to maneuver. Portable anti-ship missile on shore could do some serious damage.
Freighters have run into our Navy ships.
A missile seems unnecessary.
Ever taken one of the Navy ship tours in Norfolk?
If they could avoid getting hit by the U.S. Navy first... /s
One time.
What you think would happen to China, NK, or Iran if they launched such an attack on a carrier group?
“Could that freighter get close enough to a carrier battle group to get off a decent shot?”
Your question betrays a lot. Today, our FA-18 equipped CVNs dare not get close enough to China, for example, to both protect themselves and launch their planes on land-attack missions. By the time our CVNs are in land-attack range of China, they have long been in range of land-based hypersonic ASMs.
Read up on the Prince of Wales and Repulse, and what our “military experts” thought about warships vs. aircraft then.