The US Navy Scouting Force doctrine

US planning expected a Pacific war to involve long distances and an opponent attempting to wear down a larger fleet through attrition. In this explanation, Japan's limited usable industrial space prevents it from matching American or British imperial fleet construction ship for ship. Fleet exercises in which carriers ran short of escorts supplied an immediate warning about the danger. A forward scouting force could avoid traps, turn them against the enemy, or report the enemy's location to the main fleet. The original Lexington battlecruisers were framed as reconnaissance and economic-warfare ships, meant to frighten off enemy cruisers rather than fight prolonged capital-ship engagements. The Alaska class follows that logic in a later form and gives the carrier group a powerful defender without committing every fast battleship. With that escort attached, Lexington and Saratoga might also give up their 8-inch guns earlier and concentrate on aviation.