Why cruise-missile ships do not replace sustained carrier strikes

How do cruise missiles change carrier employment if surface ships can conduct the same strike mission without risking pilots?

Missile ships are excellent for opening strikes, but carriers remain valuable for sustained operations because their aviation magazines can be replenished at sea.

Cruise-missile ships can strike targets without risking aircraft or pilots, but their missile magazines eventually run out. In the May 2025 assessment, replenishing vertical-launch cells at sea remains a capability under development, with Red Sea deployments still relying on port facilities to reload. Carrier aviation munitions can already be replenished at sea. That makes missile ships suited to opening strikes while carriers provide an ongoing strike capability. Magazine replenishment therefore matters alongside the reach and power of the initial attack.