Originally Posted by
Bigpants
KenV point taken about an overt act of war. Now assume that one of the carrier group hits a mine in "international waters" try proving that the Koreans or Iranians were responsible?
I was referring to the various posts that claimed it was "easy" to sink a CVN using anti-ship ballistic missiles. Even assuming that were true (which I seriously doubt), such a kill would have massive repercussions that probably no nation would consider acceptable.
As for mines, it's doubtful a single mine could sink a CVN, although one
might sink a CVBG escort ship. But mines are indiscriminate and very very non-precision weapons, being essentially area denial weapons. Since there are far far more commercial vessels on the seas than military vessels, it's far more likely a commercial vessel will strike a random mine, including a "friendly" vessel.
Incidentally, 1946 was not the last time a warship struck a mine. USS Princeton (CG-59) and USS Tripoli (LPH-10) both hit mines during the first Iraq war. And FWIW, these were Italian manufactured influence mines. And although it did not strike a mine, USS Cole (DDG-67) was severely damaged by a suicide bomber attack. These are a very different type of event than a deliberate military attack on a CVN using ballistic missiles.