WEBF, here's a simple truth. Land based air will always be required, unless you own a carrier fleet of the size and configuration of the USN - even the WWII Pacific campaign showed the necessity of land based air power.
UK carriers won't have the weight and quantity of firepower of the CVNs. We have to be realistic. The USN pack a punch and we'll most likely be there with them when they do but solo major combat ops is a fallacy without either the French and/or US alongside - we could pack a hefty slap alone.
There are targets that the CVNs air wing cannot hit without land-based AAR. If you want permanence/endurance for CAS or OCA, at range, then land-based AAR is a must.
Today we fight Joint, and tomorrow is no different. The single-role/Service one-stop shop attitude is archaic and wrong.
Last edited by MSOCS; 1st Apr 2017 at 15:56.