Now is probably the right time for the NATO Response Force to come out from under a stone and swing into action. This would leave just a few days for the usual nutters (mostly senior RN and RM officers) to rant about an independent UK carrier force before we see how it's done by the professional air arms. I read somewhere that a retired UK RM general thought that all that's needed for a Libyan air operation is a few Harriers (with no radar) and some helicopters from a through deck cruiser. Wally! Lord West's comments are similarly daft and you can almost see his tongue sicking out from his cheek.
The idea that this could be done from a single UK future carrier is fanciful and, to my ears, ridiculously amateurish. Any kind of military response, even if 'just' a NFZ needs to credible, sustainable over an indefinite period and demonstrate an overwhelming capability. I stick by the view that a comprehensive package of air power would be required including recce, AWACS, AAR, UAVs etc to do this properly.
If I were Gadaffi, I know what my greatest fear would be and it's not some future HMS Queen Hopeful tarting about off the coast.
The US Carrier force is something entirely different. The reason the first question of the US CinC at the start of a crisis is, "Where are the carriers?" is because they take a while to get moving if they aren't in place. The US President doesn't have to ask, "Where is the USAF?". He kind of assumes it's available and ready.
If we put all of our eggs into one or two future carriers, there is a significant risk that it would be stuck in dock, on the other side of the world or hopelessly short of aircraft, weapons, role equipment and logistics to react in time. If we could have 4 or 5 carriers and a rounded air package embarked then fine. We wouldn't ever get that, just some half-arsed capability that might or might not be responsive enough to react in time. It might be nice to have in some circumstances but it's just not the top priority when it come to controlling air for the joint effort.
My money goes on NATO mounting something from bases in southern Europe with some carriers in support and run from Lisbon.