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Once ships get well into the missile age (IE all SAM types unlocked), are battles essentially just a case of who can find the other and shoot their missiles first? Even CWIS doesn't seem to help my ships survive that much.

Sounds about right. With the rise of the missile and the demise of armor plate, modern naval warfare has oft been described as eggshells armed with hammers. Get the first blow in---you win.

Shoot first.
Shoot big.
That is standard tactics in modern naval combat. Lots of books and papers on this. Harpoon does a fair job of illustrating this. Fast and bloody, recon is essential.

I think it's about launching massive carrier strikes and finishing the rest off with the ship mounted missiles. Closing in with ship first is suicidal.

I've had good luck with massively investing in SAMs and radar controlled Mediums AA. Also damage control is an essential crew training option. You could also go for the 90k ton CV with an armored hangar, belt etc. as decks are not so important anymore.

solops wrote: Sat May 27, 2023 2:29 am Shoot first.
Shoot big.
That is standard tactics in modern naval combat.

Modern naval warfare is the same as during ww2 or ww1, the mine is the king. (Remember US destroyers hidding behind cargo ship during Iran's attempt to disrupt oil flow?)

The most modern warships basically only have wood or polymeres above water, to reduce radar return. A single missile hit (or mine) can and did doom better armored ships, and not freak lucky shot either.

And don't forget the small fry, as demonstrated in the Israeli wars or even smaller like the jetski-bomb used in the Ukraine war.

And of course real full missile fleet battle never happened, so the game is not only a model, but one based on speculations. It also has its limitations, for exemple in modern warfare subs hunts warships (and subs), but you can't controle them in battle.

And CWIS is about as last ditch as you can get, being invisible, out off reach or full of decoys/EW and damage control (firefigth and keep electric power) is key to survival. The game is a little easier than real world since in battle you know the other ships are hostile, there is no civilian air/sea traffic to avoid and IFF seems to work perfectly, therefore you do not have a long and fatal decision-making delay before launching your salvo.