A direct institutional and design line runs from Forrestal to the Gerald R. Ford class. The carrier advocates who appeared to lose with the cancellation of USS United States instead laid the groundwork for a central instrument of the US Navy. Sending a carrier announces close American interest because its air group can exceed the scale or capability of some national air forces. Mobile, concentrated aviation gives the signal its force. The ship remains vulnerable if an opponent penetrates the interconnected defensive layers of its task group.
Notable Point · 35:19-37:12
Carrier air power sends a strategic signal through layered defence
Forrestal's design lineage fed the modern carrier's role as a visible American signal, backed by a large air wing and layered task-group defence.