Carriers obsoleted battleships 80 years ago because the carrier's weapons were able to out-range and destroy the battleships before the battleships could get close enough to use their guns which could only shoot about 20 miles.<p>Modern missiles can out-range and kill carriers which can't get close enough to use their planes which only have several hundred miles of range.<p><pre><code> Q. What do you call ANY surface ship in today's world?
A. A slow, expensive target.
Q. What do you call a complete Carrier Strike Force?
A. A BUNCH of slow, expensive targets.</code></pre>