Aircraft carriers can sustain repeated air-defence, early-warning, and strike sorties because their aircraft can be refuelled and rearmed at sea. The April 2025 comparison points to Red Sea operations, where American destroyers return to port to replenish vertical-launch cells. Demonstrating at-sea missile loading would need to develop into a consistent operational practice before it could support routine deployments. A large submarine missile salvo could therefore provide an opening strike, while replenishable carrier aviation sustains subsequent operations.
Notable Point · 1:43:20-1:45:14
Carrier aviation and VLS ships face different replenishment limits
The April 2025 comparison contrasts replenishable carrier aviation with surface combatants returning to harbour to reload vertical-launch missiles.