I guess that if AAR is not needed for ship based AC then the USN just wasted money by having it and all those FA18 s etc that we refuelled over the years were just doing it for fun. I also guess that the emergency reinforcement of GR3s from ASI to Hermes in 1982 was another pointless exercise!
Another example of the need for the capability is the option to refuel (from the emergency tanker) when the deck is not available.