Queen Elizabeth provides a more practical scale than Forrestal for a future conventional Japanese carrier. At about 284 metres, the British design fits many more of the world's roughly 300-metre dry docks than a 325-metre Forrestal-class hull. A dock also needs working clearance at bow and stern, especially when a damaged ship enters or settles onto blocks. Floating docks can expand the network, but a unit able to lift and repair a 70,000-ton carrier is itself an expensive strategic asset and must be long enough to expose damaged extremities for work.
Notable Point · 3:38:27-3:45:54
Dry-dock length limits practical carrier size
The roughly forty-metre difference between Queen Elizabeth and Forrestal changes how many existing yards can maintain the ship and how much new infrastructure a navy must buy.