Last night, OSINTdefender reported that Iran-backed Houthi tribesmen again decided to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S Truman, and her strike group, currently conducting operations against the Houthis — and I can't stop laughing. I know I shouldn't but I really can't help it.
Besides, normal people don't typically appreciate just how difficult it can be to get a missile within striking distance of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN), but I'm here to change that. There's a little math involved but it's also really cool. Besides, I've had Grok do all the math for me (with ChatGPT checking Grok's work).
Assuming the Truman is roughly in the middle of the Red Sea, a Houthi missile needs 27 minutes to reach its target. In that time, traveling at 30 knots (a Nimitz-class CVN can probably do 32 or better, but I'm using the semi-official low-end figure) the circle of water that the Truman is in has increased somewhat. Instead of one square mile, it's now in a circle of roughly 750 square miles. Instead of having to find a ship in a large city block, that missile must now find a ship in an area the size of the Raleigh-Cary Metro Area.
Actually hitting a CVN is even harder because a CVN doesn't travel alone but as part of a Carrier Strike Group (CSG). A CSG includes at least two guided missile destroyers (DDG) and an even larger guided missile cruiser (CG). They might look like ships, but, among other things, they're highly mobile missile defense platforms — maybe the most advanced in the world.
Trying to get a missile or two past their defenses is a bit like trying to break into a vault at Fort Knox with a herring.
For Complete Article
Besides, normal people don't typically appreciate just how difficult it can be to get a missile within striking distance of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (CVN), but I'm here to change that. There's a little math involved but it's also really cool. Besides, I've had Grok do all the math for me (with ChatGPT checking Grok's work).
Assuming the Truman is roughly in the middle of the Red Sea, a Houthi missile needs 27 minutes to reach its target. In that time, traveling at 30 knots (a Nimitz-class CVN can probably do 32 or better, but I'm using the semi-official low-end figure) the circle of water that the Truman is in has increased somewhat. Instead of one square mile, it's now in a circle of roughly 750 square miles. Instead of having to find a ship in a large city block, that missile must now find a ship in an area the size of the Raleigh-Cary Metro Area.
Actually hitting a CVN is even harder because a CVN doesn't travel alone but as part of a Carrier Strike Group (CSG). A CSG includes at least two guided missile destroyers (DDG) and an even larger guided missile cruiser (CG). They might look like ships, but, among other things, they're highly mobile missile defense platforms — maybe the most advanced in the world.
Trying to get a missile or two past their defenses is a bit like trying to break into a vault at Fort Knox with a herring.
For Complete Article
