Does the military still use battleships?

Answer 1

No, the US Military does not use battleships these days for active combat.

The reason for this is because battleships have become obsolete in naval combat. The original goal of a battleship was to provide artillery bombardment to sink ships and destroy land targets as well as serve as a command post. Modern guidance systems and missiles have rendered these tactics unneeded. In today's world, the missile cruiser or ballistic submarine represents much more of a strategic asset in military terms.

Actually, there is a very significant need for naval gunfire (ask the Marine Corps - they've been complaining since the Iowa-class was retired about not having any effective short-bombardment capability). Ship-to-ship combat using battleships was shown to be obsolete at the start of WW2. However, Naval gunfire support has NOT been completely replaced by missiles and bombs. Naval gunfire is far cheaper than missiles, far safer (to the user, not the recipient) than bombs, and more flexible than either. It's restrictions are primarily range-based.

Back on topic - there are two major reasons why no battleship has been made since 1944, and why none of the existing battleships were retained in service. The first is the expense of building a full battleship compares poorly to building a far more useful (and capable) aircraft carrier. Theoretically, the battleship's modern role of ship-to-shore gunfire support can be carried out by a properly equipped light cruiser (or even, a larger destroyer). Ship-to-ship combat is no longer done using guns, and the huge amounts of armor on a battleship are useless against most modern anti-ship weapons. The second major reason no navy still uses the old battleships is manpower. Crewing the WW2-era Iowa-class ships required over 1600 men, whereas a typical Aegis cruiser was under 400. It's simply not cost-effective to keep a battleship in service, when all of its duties can be handled by other ships costing far less to build and run.

Answer 2

No. The last battleship of any country in commission was the USS Missouri, decommissioned for good in 1992.

The last time a battleship fired at an opposing surface ship was likely the Battle of Surigao Strait (25 October 1944), which was coincidentally the last time that opposing battleships fought. Since then, they have been used solely for land bombardment (though the US's Iowa-class battleships were armed with surface-to-surface anti-ship Harpoon missiles during their 1980s refits).

There is considerably debate amongst naval enthusiasts and strategists as to the effectiveness of current-day mid-caliber (5-inch) ship guns for the naval bombardment role, as current-generation 5-inch guns lack both the range and heavy hitting power of large (12-inch plus) naval guns, and replacements in the form of missiles or aircraft-dropped bombs are considered much more expensive and less versatile. The US Navy is currently researching a variety of larger-caliber naval cannons for possible future deployment (including electromagnetic rail guns). However, even if such weapons are deployed on ship, the day of the large, heavily armored, and large gun-armed ship is gone. Naval battleships are now obsolete - their large guns less versatile (and less effective) then the planes of an aircraft carrier, and their armor irrelevant in the face of advanced torpedoes and large numbers of anti-ship missiles.