Carriers displaced gun-focused capital ships once aircraft could reliably strike beyond the range of shipboard guns. A gunship still has an advantage where it can deliver a high volume of fire more cheaply than aircraft. In the hypothetical railgun example, reliable fire at 500-600 miles, or even 1,000 miles, could make a mobile gun-focused capital ship attractive again. That forecast depends on the weapons achieving sufficient range and economy, and it would leave carriers with missions against more distant targets using crewed or uncrewed aircraft.
Chapter · 8:16-10:32
Gun range, cost and the carrier's capital-ship role
The balance between carriers and gun-focused capital ships depends on the range, cost and volume of fire each can deliver.