HH
I suspect you have not seen many NATO naval tactical publications. They are geared towards task group operations, and they seem to suggest that the primary wartime role of frigates and destroyers is to escort High Value Units. Do you think that they are wrong?
What critical tasks will T45 or SSN be diverted from? Type 45 is there to provide Anti Air Warfare capability with SAMPSON/Sea Viper in defence of a High Value Unit or task group. SSNs operating with a task group will usually be doing the same sort of things as one operating without one.
Autorev
Are you saying that possible hostile A2AD capabilities mean that the areas within 300 miles of the coast are no go areas for the World's navies? What about merchant shipping? What about choke points?
With respect to COD, I wonder if there are any open source statistics on what COD delivers to a deployed Nimitz? Personnel, aircraft parts, parts for the carrier, things for other ships in the group, mail?
Just about every documentary I have ever seen about a US Navy carrier seems to include an Underway Replenshipment (RAS in RN terms) with support vessels for things like fuel for the aircraft, weapons, food, and so on. Is a support ship carrying aircraft spares really so outlandish?
Darren P
Using land based tankers (large aircraft with great range endurance) to refuel carrier based ones is pefectly normal. As far back as 2001 the webpages relating to CVF mentioned FTSA as a related project. From 2001 the RAF was providing AAR support for US carrier based aircraft operating over Afghanistan, as it had in 1991 in the Gulf.