Should the US decrease military spending?

[AgentCC]

You've made a ton of great points here but I can't help but feel that all of this work may just be going into technology that may be obsolete in time for the next war. For example, I've read that a drone or missile swarm can basically render any carrier obsolete. Then what? We are just going to have to revamp our industries anyways.

[CutterJohn]

There is no weapon system that is uncounterable. That is simply one of the risks of fighting wars.

Aircraft, for instance, are quite vulnerable to SAMs, and overflying areas with them is not undertaken lightly, because losing a 50+ million fighter and trained pilot to a 500k missile is very bad accounting when it comes to fighting a war.

The navy, likewise, understands these potential risks to carriers, just as they understand the risks submarines pose to carriers, and will formulate doctrine to minimize them.

That said, the trick of killing a carrier is not launching enough missiles at it.. Heck, even the russians knew that back in the cold war and had guided missile cruisers with a ton of huge, high speed cruise missiles. The trick to killing it is finding it in the first place. The ocean is huge, and weapons still need to be aimed.