The White Paper would keep existing carriers into the 1970s but order no replacement, citing a ten-year carrier-force cost of 1,400 million. The accounting is unclear: the figure may cover ships, aircraft, escorts, and support, but the document does not resolve the question. The promised cheaper substitute became the through-deck cruiser with Sea Harriers, an anti-submarine emphasis, and no airborne early warning aircraft during the Falklands War. A new carrier entering service in 1973 as old ships reached the end of their lives could also have transferred crews and experience with little wasteful overlap.
Chapter · 21:28-25:19
CVA-01 and the cost of carrier aviation
The decision against a new carrier rested on a ten-year cost whose contents were unclear, followed by a promise to provide carrier capability more cheaply.