This discussion has been ongoing since the 1950s. It is USAF long-range bombers vs USN carrier strike capabilities, and it’s about who gets the budgetary funding for their programs. The arguments about vulnerability against enemy air launched cruise missiles have existed nearly as long, and yet as the ALCM advances, so do the countermeasures to maintain the balance.

Carriers can act against a majority of the nations across the globe, and can sustain operations around the clock while bombers fly home to their bases to re-arm. Bombers in the sky provide temporary relief to allies and dread to foes, but carrier borne aircraft can strike from multiple axes around the clock, never giving the enemy a chance to recover, while supporting the ground forces advances. That is what keeps them relevant and valuable in a world growing ever more unsettled.