Re:Oh, and by the way... (Score 0)

StarLifter-scale aircraft drop a spread of 30 small cruise missiles from roughly 300km away Well the B-52H maxxes out at 20 cruise missles (AMG-142), and there were some extreme retrofits to accomodate the new armament. The AGM-142 has a range listed range of 75km, and 30 of them would represent more than 1/3 of the entire stock of the second largest purchase contract for the weapon with a purchase cost of nearly $150million. A far more likely candidate for direct surface ship attack is the AGM-84ER Harpoon missle, which hasnt entered service yet near as I can tell, it has a 150+ nautical mile range, and its standard little brother has a 60+ nautical mile range. NOTHING that can launch such a weapon is going to get that close to a carrier unless the carrier wants it to.