One carrier sprint across the Mediterranean left only a very fast companion able to keep pace. In a modern formation, the only platform certain to match a carrier's sustained speed may be a nuclear-powered submarine. A submarine can protect below the surface but cannot provide the destroyer and cruiser air-defense bubble the carrier needs. Nominal ship speed therefore becomes a force-integration problem rather than a specification contest.
Notable Point · 47:41-48:06
Modern carriers can outrun their surface air-defense escorts
A carrier sprint can leave surface escorts behind, while the submarine able to keep pace cannot replace their air-defense screen.