I think that Mike Burleson has overstated the threat that the new conventional submarines represent to aircraft carriers.  There's no question that the new generation of diesel electrical submarines are deadlier then ever.  With their advanced sensors and air independent propulsion systems, they can lurk under water for weeks waiting for their prey to approach.  However, what's not mentioned is these submarines critical weakness.  They're slow.  That underwater endurance depends upon the submarine maintaining a speed of less then 5 knots.  Once the conventional submarine comes under attack by either nuclear submarines or sub searching aircraft, it's extremely vulnerable and relatively easy to destroy. The main reason that the US Navy is threatened by conventional submarines today is because, with the end of the cold war, the anti—submarine skills of the Navy have atrophied.  Aircraft that were intended as sub hunters were either...(Read Full Post)