A contemporary British and French carrier discussion exposes a recurring availability problem. Three hulls shared across two navies may produce a deployment, but they leave little resilience when maintenance and other commitments intervene. A state that wants a reliable Far East presence therefore needs several carriers of its own or a much more dependable multinational arrangement. The ship visible on station represents a larger rotation, training, and support requirement behind it.
Notable Point · 49:41-50:09
Carrier numbers for a reliable Far East presence
A combined British and French carrier tally still needs sufficient hulls to keep one reliably deployed in the Far East.