this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026
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[–] Infamousblt@hexbear.net 41 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Iran please sink a carrier

[–] CommCat@hexbear.net 29 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

They don't even need to sink a carrier, all they need to do is land a missile and the deck will be damaged and the carrier will be inoperable. They can't risk having multi-million $ jets taking off on a damaged deck. Carriers are just behemoths to intimidate weak opponents, but faced with an opponent that can hit back, they are big expensive targets for a barrage of hypersonic anti-ship missiles.

If Iran sinks a carrier with the loss of a huge number of crew and billions of military hardware, it will be a total embarrassment for Amerikkka. A dying empire might resort to a horrific response.

[–] Infamousblt@hexbear.net 35 points 2 days ago (1 children)

The dying empire is already doing countless horrific things and will continue to, regardless of how much Iran fights back. So they may as well fight back

[–] CommCat@hexbear.net 19 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I'm talking about dropping a nuke, they've done it before.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 10 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

This is my worst case but still plausible scenario fear. The US responds to a major vessel loss with a nuke on Tehran.

[–] BanMeFromPosting@hexbear.net 6 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Why are nukes so much scarier than regular bombs and missiles btw? Gaza is flattened and no nukes were involved with that.

[–] jack@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago

Because the US could do that with a single stealth bomber in one bombing run that can't be defended against. To do the same with conventional bombs would take far longer and Iran's air defenses and retaliation would make it too costly to maintain.

[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 26 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

it is the most efficient way to remove a large number of yankee soldiers from existence
a real big anti-fascist action

[–] Johnny_Arson@hexbear.net 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Part of me really wants to see that happen, but another part of my really doesn't want to find out what happens when you blow up a small nuclear reactor in the middle of the ocean.

[–] KobaCumTribute@hexbear.net 30 points 2 days ago (1 children)

part of my really doesn't want to find out what happens when you blow up a small nuclear reactor in the middle of the ocean.

Probably not all that much. It's heavily shielded and I assume buried deep inside the structure (to the point that "refueling" it means "tear the ship up for a refit and replace the entire reactor while you're at it, because it's inaccessible and can't be refueled"), so the ship itself being made to take on water and sink probably wouldn't crack it open. I have to assume there are also failsafes to make it shut down in the event of catastrophic failure, if nothing else because having it trying to run when submerged may make salvage operations untenable.

It would likely be less of an overall problem than all the other extremely toxic bullshit they no doubt have on board, or the oil and fuel that the oil tankers and cargo ships that would no doubt also get targeted would spew out when cracked open.

[–] BobDole@hexbear.net 11 points 2 days ago

Aircraft carriers carry a ton of jet fuel, oil, and diesel as well.

[–] Moidialectica@hexbear.net 11 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Can someone explain to me why carriers are still considered a good naval ship when planes can now go farther be refueled in air and you basically have infinite options to build air strips if that wasn't enough in a week?

[–] BanMeFromPosting@hexbear.net 9 points 2 days ago

Even though you can fly for 36 hours, it's much nicer and easier to not do that. Imagine the strain on pilots if regular missions were to be long haul flights like the ones that were done to bomb Iran last time.

[–] GrouchyGrouse@hexbear.net 18 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It’s basically a floating airbase that has the ability to move into (or recede) from combat zones. They don’t really fit our war ethos right now anyway, they are designed to be part of an overwhelming strike in the event of total nuclear war

There’s also ego and competition between the branches and the navy is quite addicted to being an air power and will never acquiesce to going back to “just boats” ever again, if they have their way

Edit: you are totally correct about their redundancy, so I want to clarify: one of the perks of the carrier group is that by moving it won’t be as vulnerable during nuclear war, the enemy has to know where it is, NORAD will always be at NORAD etc

Losing a carrier isn’t just a loss to their “global war on terror/narcos/guys we don’t like” capacity, it’s also a loss to their “oh shit actual peer actual nuclear oh my god war” capacity

[–] Outdoor_Catgirl@hexbear.net 15 points 2 days ago

In-air refueling has limits. Unless you want to be doing operation black buck shit where you have like 10 tankers refueling other tankers to get 1 bomber there, having a carrier dramatically reduces the range your jets need to fly.

[–] KhanCipher@hexbear.net 8 points 2 days ago

The whole thing about the battleship becoming less prominent and the carrier taking over goes back to WWII, and more to the point, Pearl Harbor effectively forcing the US Navy to rely on carriers to be the flagships of their fleets in the pacific.