Future Carrier (Including Costs)

[WE Branch Fanatic]

Talking of speed/time/distance considerations - this news article about ongoing events in a small part of the Red Sea is worth reading: For U.S. carrier pilots, a vexing mission hunting down Houthi missiles and drones - NBC News

The U.S. pilots also have other tasks: to defend the Navy flotilla in the Red Sea from incoming Houthi anti-ship missiles or drones, come to the aid of commercial vessels under threat and fly over the area to demonstrate that the Red Sea is safe for civilian navigation.

“We will be airborne, and then, if tasked, we will shift our positioning to protect ships that are in distress if called upon," Keating said. "Our presence is the important thing that reinforces that it’s safe to operate in the South Red Sea.”

Presence and proximity - again!

Here is a running list of engagements against Houthi anti ship attacks in the Red Sea. As you can see the Super Hornets from the USS Dwight DEisenhower have splashed quite few UAVs and anti ship missiles, particularly when these things have been launched in large numbers. Without carrier based fighters how much more likely is it that some would have got through the defences, how many more merchant vessels would have been hit, how many more would have suffered damage that led to them sinking, and how many more merchant seamen would have been killed or injured?

Defence in depth is for winners.

The Super Hornets from Ike were not the first shipborne aircraft to splash UAVs. USMC Harriers aboard the USS Bataan were the first to achieve kills. I suppose this underlines the importance of all shipborne aircraft.