Is This The End of The Carrier

[Alfred_the_Great]

Because air is free and steel is cheap.

Below a critical size, Carrier Operations cease to truly useful when considering multi-role packages. The current CVS are below that size, with limited hangar space and an inability to use all of it's spots whilst conducting fixed wing operations.

The QE class is massively too big for the current outfit of a/c (F35?!), however it costs peanuts to build a big ship now instead of building a slightly too small ship and trying to expand it later on (cf the French Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle's extension!). Generations of Naval Architecture will attest to this, the Type 42 Destroyer or ANZAC frigate have limited space to take on new missions; the Type 45 or Absalon Class have enough space to cope with upgrades we can't predict yet.

Whilst the CV BG may be asset rich, anyone who takes on a near-peer competitor solely using them deserves to get their arse kicked. That's what B2 a/c, cruise missiles and SOF are for - to attrit the enemy before you get within his range.