I believe that the lifespan of a carrier in the "next great war" is counted in days if not hours. Any amount of resources is justified against a target so valuable and so concentrated. Just throw everything at it, one hit will justify all the expenses combined. This is not to say that "carriers are worthless". A carrier's greatest use is the demonstration of a power's military might during peacetime. It is a tool of coercion without breaking any international law. Just sail outside anybody's home waters and no one will have doubts about your intentions. A ballistic submarine's far greater firepower, on the other hand, is unwieldy and unusable without incurring doomsday. Carriers are like show muscles, it sends a message to people that you are not to be messed with; ballistic missiles are like guns -- you can't use it lightly or without consequences.
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