For a country with global interests and dependence on trade, a deployable airfield can remain useful across a thirty-year planning horizon. A short period without an obvious carrier mission does not establish that the capability will be unnecessary throughout that period. The estimate here combines roughly ten years to work up a restored capability with ten to fifteen years to procure the ships. It warns that a gap could therefore leave a country waiting around twenty-five years after the need becomes apparent. An ongoing carrier program is recommended for countries whose risk and threat assessment justifies that capability.
Notable Point · 1:06:34-1:08:01
Carrier aviation takes decades to rebuild after a gap
The argument for continuous carrier aviation rests on national need over thirty years and the long time required to procure ships and rebuild proficiency.