Size the escort fleet for refits and losses

Photographs of British, American, Cold War, and Indian carrier groups show how widely escort depth can vary. The Royal Navy's reduction of the planned Type 45 force from twelve ships to six exposes the assumptions behind fleet numbers. Decision-makers expected counter-insurgency and discretionary wars, so area-air-defence destroyers appeared less urgent. That logic supplied a nominal carrier group while leaving no deep reserve through major refits, accidents, or combat losses. A resilient design has to count the escorts unavailable today as well as those expected to be lost in a demanding conflict. Buying the carrier without that supporting depth creates a fragile rather than continuous capability.