Why a common carrier airframe must do more than intercept bombers

If the aircraft only needs speed and efficient formation attacks, why not use a high-aspect-ratio bomber-hunting wing?

The same aircraft must also carry out strike, patrol, ASW, and reconnaissance missions, so it needs a general-purpose design.

The proposed twin must carry out bombing, patrol, and anti-submarine work as well as interception. A wing optimized for one type of bomber hunting would therefore have to satisfy several other demands. Existing Fleet Air Arm combinations supply the precedent: torpedo, spotting, and reconnaissance duties in the Swordfish family, fighter and dive-bomber duties in the Skua, and fighter reconnaissance in the Fulmar. The same reasoning leads toward a Beaufighter- or Hornet-like general-purpose airframe. Torpedo strike would probably be the leading requirement, with fighter capability and long-range reconnaissance also shaping the design.