Navy Carriers Not Easily Targeted While Moving.

• Author: Book, Elizabeth G.
• Position: Brief Article

Critics of Navy aircraft carriers often cite their vulnerability as a reason why the United States should de-emphasize its reliance on these large ships as vehicles of national security. Large-deck, 90,000-ton carriers, these critics say, are "sitting ducks."

But that is not the case, says Donald Pilling, a retired four-star admiral who recently served as vice chief of naval operations. Carriers, he said, are "constantly moving." Sometimes, Pilling said, "people think that because a carrier is such a large ship, that it is easy to target--it's not. The carrier is moving all the...