As we all know, naval aviation rendered naval artillery obsolete in terms of controlling the open seas, ending the era of the capital ship (other then carriers). Now, only the Russians and the Americans have any ships larger then cruisers designed around taking part directly in combat, for good reason. Guns simply aren't effective at ship killing anymore.
Can the concept of 'capital surface combatant' be separated from the concept of 'naval artillery', though? In particular, could a task force based around ships like Project 1144, known to us as the Kirov class, armed with missiles that can easily destroy today's unarmored ships, fight effectively against a traditional carrier group?
Given that the P-700, Kirov's main weapon, was designed in the 1970s, while the ship itself was designed in the 1960s, let's be fair and compare a theoretical missile battlecruiser or arsenal ship with 21st century equipment and a modern escort against, say, the CVN-77 battle group, all armed with conventional weapons, independent of other factors (such as coastal air cover). What would the modern SAG look like? How would it do against the carrier group?