Military planners and strategists can no longer ignore the vulnerabilities of aircraft carriers. Missile technology is only going to get better—and much like the battleships before them, aircraft carrier technology has inbuilt physical limits that cannot be overcome. But this does not mean that navies across the world must be made redundant. They just need to adapt. Perhaps the key is to go “back to the future” and consider that a strange-looking rusted plane, long sitting neglected in the Caspian Sea, is the answer to these problems. For navies to survive, perhaps the Caspian Sea Monster must roar once more.

Philip Pilkington is a macroeconomic and investment professional, co-host of the Multipolarity podcast, and the author of The Reformation in Economics.

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