Surely one of the great things about a carrier is that it is flexible, the complement of aircraft can be adjusted to suit operational needs - be it (fleet) air defence, ground attack, recce, ASW, ASuW or whatever, bearing in mind you will often need several of these things at the same time.
To quote from CP1 Ships, Aircraft And Missiles Of The Royal Navy -
....to provide the facilities....... aircraft day and night all weather for -
- Attack and recconaissance in support of joint operations
- Air defence of friendly forces
- Anti Surface Warfare
- Anti Submarine Warfare
- Airborne Early Warning
Since the Navy's role (to my knowlege) is still about seapower, it coul be said that the ability to provide local air superiority, over the sea-space that is occupied by a task group, is an important part of this.
Last edited by WE Branch Fanatic; 24th Dec 2002 at 00:08.