Jet-Age Naval Warfare – Not Your Granddad’s Surface Combat

When you think of U.S. Navy (USN) aircraft attacking ships, often the WW II Battle of Midway comes to mind, when Dauntless dive-bombers sank four Japanese aircraft carriers. Most readers may not know, however, that in the modern jet era, U.S. Navy strike aircraft fought several successful anti-ship battles using various types of missiles, guided munitions, and free-fall bombs. The technical term is “anti-surface warfare” (ASUW), which is the suppression and/or destruction of surface ships....