Arsenal torpedo lockers moored under the ocean. 5x5 torpedo boxes sprinkled around the ocean. Sonar pingers (sorry I have very limited knowledge of naval assets) separate from the torpedo boxes for torpedos to lock onto target(s).
The fleet enters my killzone and I acticate my sonar pingers, I call them Beep units. One torpedo box, Bleeps, can be released against the biggest target which should be the carrier. Other Bleeps can release in a spread pattern to target other targets.
This is my Beep & Bleep Method. I tried to think of something with Kracken so I can yell ‘Release the Kracken’ as I cackle. The Cackle & Kracken Method?
Actually Boogly may have a new take, interesting…
A string of deep water Passive Sonar, initially anyway, Torpedoes set on an entrance to a trap site.
The downside to this of course is the fact that you, your cabinet and your Military top chiefs would rightfully be hunted down like rabid dogs, one warning only and you heard it on the Dope first.
Seriously people don’t not try this at home, don’t even think about it.
Aw crap they’re knocking at my dorr, gun shotssssssssssssssss
China has developed the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile to do exactly this. It is an incredibly potent weapon, and the general consensus is that if more than a couple were launched at one time, the carrier would be in very deep doo-doo. It is without question the most effective anti-carrier weapon in the world, probably followed by very quiet diesel-electric submarines.
I should add that the DF-21D is reputed to have been operational for three years, so there’s no need for China to embark on the OP’s five year development program.
Norovirus works pretty well on Royal Viking lines cruise ships. I can’t see why the US Navy would be any more immune. Other than youth allowing them to move slightly when sick.
Why reinvent the wheel? This is exactly the type of target the Type 65 was designed for, it packs a 557 kg warhead, and has a range of 50 km at 93 km/h, 100 km at 56 km/h. The threat from it was so severe that:
Except for the Akulas, one would probably be much better off with a modern diesel-electric rather than nuclear sub. It is very difficult to make a nuclear plant quiet. The Germans are making some very quiet boats.
Actually, my first choice (when it comes to cost effectiveness) is the Russian Yakhont missile. Just find a way for your launch platform to sneak through the radar and fighter screen.
In a long-range fight, you prioritize “target-rich” areas. That’s what nukes are for. Some army and air force nukes in the past didn’t even have guidance systems. They were just launched like rocket artillery.
It’s probably not a five year timeline, but how about given 10 or 15 years how hard would it be to get somebody in a position on the carrier to do enough damage to make it inoperable?
How about if you could get someone into a position on a support ship - is there anything they could do?
Is there even any way one person (or a small group) of trusted people could cripple a carrier?
A 911-style airliner impact may do the trick. I’m sure a Nimitz class aircraft carrier is made of stronger stuff than the Twin Towers, but I believe enough damage would be sustained to dock the ship for repairs for at least 6 months, particularly if you knock the bridge and control tower into the ocean. And, it will cost you next to nothing, because you’re not going to buy your weapon, you’re going to high-jack it (well, you want to be safely on the ground while your recruited Jihadist Kamikaze-bomber does the wet work—just tell him it’s in the name of Allah and guarantee him lots of virgins in heaven). Best of all, there will be retaliation, but not against you…it’ll be against those damned Talibaners again.
There may be a couple of kinks to work out with this plan: are commercial airliners permitted to fly over combat-ready carrier strike forces? Would an airliner have enough time to dive from normal flight altitude to evade detection and anti-aircraft measures? If so, perhaps the plan should be to have the airliner dive into the carrier at takeoff or landing, while the carrier group is close shore, near a commercial airport.
The SS-19 is a land-based missile system. You mean the SS-N-19, but it would be much easier just to launch a large number of its BrahMos semi-replacement (and you’d avoid the problems inherent in a nuclear strike.)
No nukes of any kind required. Just one submarine with 2 MK48 class torpedoes. One would do the job, but 2 would guarantee success. Unlike WWII torps, modern torpedoes are not contact weapons. They dive below the target and detonate several feet under the keel. The resulting pressure wave from below cracks the keel/hull in two.