The shrinking US carrier force turns surface-ship independence into a force-structure problem. Of twelve carriers in the 1970s, only four can normally remain forward deployed, limiting how many crises the Navy can address at once. Cruisers and destroyers are more numerous, but without a carrier they appear vulnerable to massed Soviet bombers launching standoff missiles. Overseas carrier basing eases the shortage without removing it. Aegis offers the defensive capacity for independent operation, though it still does not give surface ships carrier-like offensive power.
Notable Point · 21:59-22:46
Carrier scarcity makes independent surface action strategically useful
Only four of twelve carriers can remain forward deployed, while Aegis may let more numerous surface combatants survive without them.