https://www.rt.com/usa/465597-navy-carrier-ford-cant-launch/

Compounding all of the SNAFUs is the fact that aircraft carriers are increasingly becoming vulnerable to relatively inexpensive hypervelocity anti-ship missiles which are very difficult to defend against, particularly when they are launched in swarms. China, Russia and Iran already have such missiles.

Aircraft carriers are about projecting power great distances from the home country.  China has one aircraft carrier (launched by Russia in 1988, sold to China in 1992, refitted by China and commissioned in 2012).  Russia currently has no aircraft carriers in commission.  Iran has never had and probably never will have an aircraft carrier.  So America's three biggest, baddest potential enemies have one aircraft carrier among them.  It has had only one arrested landing and has a catapult incapable of launching a fully-loaded fighter.  All this tells me that Russia, China and Iran have little interest in projecting a lot of power but are more interested in defending their own countries.  This is as it should be.

The US has eleven aircraft carriers with flight decks up to five acres in area.  They depend on large groups of light guided missile cruisers and destroyers to protect them from attacks from surface ships, submarines, aircraft and missiles.  Several hypersonic missiles inbound at around 4,500 miles per hour would overwhelm the defenses, and a very big hole (or multiple holes) in those big flight decks would be very likely.

Russia does, however, have a self-guided, large, high speed, underwater nuclear missile that can maneuver right into harbors before exploding.  It probably also has the capability to navigate into a carrier task group and explode underneath the carrier, taking it, 6,000 men, ninety or so aircraft and some of the escort ships to the bottom.

Aircraft carriers were vital in WW2 and important in Korea and Vietnam.  They are much less vital now and have never been extremely vital in defense of the US "homeland."  They were made so that the US could go and beat up people in other parts of the world.  I think the world may be becoming a bit pissed off about that.  Asymmetrical warfare has been becoming more and more sophisticated in recent decades.

Can you see the rationale?  "We don' need no steenkin' aircraft carriers.  We just need to sink yours."

Mostly in Vietnam, in Grenada, in Panama, in Iraq, in Libya, in Afghanistan, the US has enjoyed rather massive air superiority.  China seems to have some good airplanes and good pilots, but I don't know a lot about them,  Russia has Sukhoi fighters that are generally as good as US-made planes and possibly more maneuverable.  They seem to have good pilots.  But those pilots and the ships of both Russia and China need only launch hypersonic missiles from 250 to 600 miles away and pretty much sit back and watch.  Iran has not started a war with another country for more than 200 years.  She has no need nor desire to project power.  But Iran can launch its hypersonic missiles from on shore and be a threat to US aircraft carriers in the area.

The US, pissed off at Iran for revolting against the Shah and taking US embassy personnel hostage in 1979, sicced Saddam Hussein on Iran, and a large war ensued.  Iran lost over half a million men in the war.  In 1987 USS Stark was deployed in the area.  An Iraqi plane launched two French-made Exocet missile at Stark (allegedly misidentifying Stark as an Iranian ship).  The Exocet has a speed of around 700 mph.  One of the two Exocets was launched from 22 miles and another from 15 miles.  They flew only one or two meters above the water, avoiding radar detection.  Both struck the ship.  One didn't explode, but it caused a large and damaging fire.  The other did explode.  A total of 37 sailors were killed.  The ship still had power but was essentially out of commission as a fighting vessel.  That was over thirty years ago.  Today missiles have much higher velocities larger explosive payloads and can be launched from hundreds of miles from their targets.  Some US military senior officers have stated that there is effectively no defense against hypersonic missiles.

As has happened down through history, the US may be preparing for the last war instead of the next one.