US Navy should target Chinese aircraft carriers, report says

A US think-tank report argues that the Navy should make Chinese aircraft carriers priority targets during a major conflict, turning Beijing's own anti-carrier logic against the People's Liberation Army Navy. The proposed approach combines air-launched anti-ship missiles with satellite surveillance and other sensors to locate and strike high-value ships. Disabling carriers could constrain Chinese air operations and impose political costs, but finding mobile groups in contested seas remains difficult. The study is an analytical recommendation, not approved war policy, and escalation, targeting reliability, munitions inventories, and Chinese defences would shape feasibility.