Carrier replacement had to begin long before an old ship became unusable because design, authorization, construction, and work-up consumed about a decade. CVA-01 was intended to begin a sequence rather than appear as a single exceptional purchase. The proposed timetable placed new carriers in service around 1970, 1976, and 1982 to replace Victorious, Ark Royal, and Eagle in turn. Cancelling the first program therefore broke an entire replacement rhythm and left modernization of older hulls to cover a widening gap.
Notable Point · 2:15:26-2:16:48
CVA-01 and the planned carrier replacement cycle
CVA-01 was part of a rolling plan to replace Victorious, Ark Royal, and Eagle over many years rather than an isolated new-carrier purchase.