Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 29:53-30:53

Could the United States use a two-tier carrier fleet?

Queen Elizabeth-class-sized carriers illustrate the case for pairing supercarriers with a less costly second tier of aviation ships.

Aircraft CarriersForce StructureUS Navy
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Question

Would Queen Elizabeth-class carriers be useful to the US Marine Corps?

Short answer

Queen Elizabeth-class carriers could support a plausible two-tier fleet, though the United States would still need to balance capability, cost, and role.

Notes

An all-nuclear supercarrier fleet is costly and demanding. America-class amphibious ships show that the United States has already explored the edges of a second aviation tier. A lower tier could provide more flight decks without requiring every ship to meet the same top-end standard. The unresolved force-design question is how to divide missions between those tiers.