A viewer notes that the 1960s debate treated large carriers and medium bombers mainly as instruments for east-of-Suez operations. This framing obscured their NATO value. A carrier could provide an air base that an enemy could not locate and strike as easily as a fixed installation visible on a map. That mobility gave naval aviation a direct European role even after Britain reduced its imperial commitments.
Notable Point · 2:15:23-2:16:04
Why carriers remained relevant in a European war
The carrier debate became too closely tied to east-of-Suez operations even though mobile air bases also mattered inside NATO's European theatre.