The biggest news in early 2026 was that Trump sent troops to arrest Venezuelan President Maduro. To carry out this military operation, the U.S. Navy deployed its elite forces, gathering two battle groups in the Caribbean Sea, including the Iwo Jima amphibious assault ship used to detain Maduro, as well as the youngest Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, exuding an air of global hegemony.

(U.S. Navy main force deployment map on January 5th)

However, once out of the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Navy's presence almost disappears. According to the tracking data of the main fleet released by the U.S. Naval Institute, there are currently no flat-deck aircraft carriers in the entire Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In the Western Pacific, the U.S. military's combat power seems a bit more concentrated. The Tripoli amphibious assault ship and the Washington aircraft carrier are deployed in Japan, while the Lincoln aircraft carrier is stationed in the South China Sea. It is evident how much the United States values China.

However, these three warships are not all in deployment status. The Tripoli is located in Sasebo port, and the Washington is located in Yokosuka. Local U.S. forces have not implemented combat training on the ships, and both of these major ships are undergoing maintenance. This means that the U.S. Navy's combat readiness level has declined again, and it can only maintain two aircraft carriers and one amphibious assault ship at sea.

The reason for this awkward situation is the serious decline in the U.S. shipbuilding capability at home. Analysts tracking the situation point out that the Washington aircraft carrier has been deploying and maintaining abnormally for years. Due to the inability to repair it domestically, it had to be stationed permanently in Yokosuka, using Japan's relatively developed shipbuilding industry for repairs and maintenance. However, Japan's shipbuilding industry does not have the capability to maintain nuclear-powered warships, so the Washington must operate with existing issues, and each deployment cannot last too long.

(Lincoln releasing F-35)

The situation of the Lincoln is even more unusual. This aircraft carrier sailed west from the direction of Guam in December 2025, carrying out a routine patrol mission in the Western Pacific. It entered the area east of the South China Sea ten lines in late December and conducted joint exercises with the Philippines. According to tradition, after completing its schedule in the South China Sea, it would head north along the First Island Chain to Yokosuka. But these days, it has remained in the South China Sea. Analysts believe that during the Lincoln's northward journey, China suddenly launched the large-scale maritime and air exercise "Justice Mission 2025".

If the Lincoln followed the original plan to move north, it would approach the Chinese exercise area, especially the missile impact points during live-fire shooting. If it went around the exercise area, the U.S. Navy's face would be lost. If it entered the exercise area, it might be accidentally injured by the weapons. Therefore, the Lincoln could only stay in the Philippines until the Chinese military exercise ended before proceeding.

Only two aircraft carriers, the U.S. military is still considered an unbeatable giant. Even Russia has not mentioned the topic of long-range confrontation with American aircraft carriers for many years. Today, with the U.S. shifting its strategic focus back to the Western Hemisphere and reviving Monroeism, a super aircraft carrier can make any Latin American country bow down. Even a big country like Brazil cannot come up with maritime and air forces to resist the military might of the American aircraft carrier battle group.

(PLA bomber carrying long-range missiles flying)

However, apart from the United States, there is also China. The PLA's years of building anti-carrier warfare system is set against the peak strength of the U.S. Navy. According to the current observations of the number of anti-ship ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles, and cruise missiles, even if the U.S. manages to repair all 11 aircraft carriers, equip them fully with aviation squadrons, and send them to the Western Pacific, the PLA can still deal with them calmly. However, when we completed the entire process of model research, testing, type certification, mass production, and equipment, forming combat effectiveness, the U.S. navy was left with only two aircraft carriers that could move, which is indeed a situation of looking around helplessly.

In fact, the relationship between aircraft carriers and anti-aircraft carrier operations has always been a dynamic contradiction. Before the practical use of anti-ship ballistic missiles, the U.S. did not think any force could conduct standoff attacks on aircraft carriers. Even though the Soviet Union developed various types of airborne long-range heavy anti-ship missiles, such as the Tu-22M and AS-4 combination, the U.S. came up with the combination of early warning aircraft + F-14 + "Phoenix" long-range air-to-air missiles, believing it could effectively respond. Aircraft carriers were still considered a worthwhile investment and development of a branch of the military.

(Ford-class aircraft carrier in the Caribbean Sea)

When the DF-21D became operational, the U.S. also tried to explore the potential of the aircraft carrier itself, introducing models such as X-47B to counter. However, the U.S. quickly found that this approach was useless. Moreover, with the emergence of models like DF-26, the aircraft carrier had become a target that could only be attacked unilaterally.

Therefore, the U.S. Navy itself has already begun to question the future of the aircraft carrier. The so-called "Taiwan Strait drone hell" and "maneuverable and unmanned collaborative fleets" are all attempts to reduce dependence on the aircraft carrier. The emergence of the new generation of YJ series hypersonic anti-ship missiles further increased the U.S. Navy's disdain for the aircraft carrier. If the aircraft carrier can't cope with China, why bother producing so many?

Since others can't deal with the U.S. aircraft carrier, the few existing ones are enough. This is probably the logic behind the U.S. having only two aircraft carriers deployed at sea. From this perspective, our anti-aircraft carrier combat system has achieved its value, sinking the U.S. aircraft carrier combat power from the budget sheet.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/7592080512949273098/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.