A carrier means a carrier group

Should Germany get a carrier?

Only if Germany also builds or contributes the carrier battle group, air group, escorts, and support structure needed to make the carrier operationally meaningful.

Germany could have a carrier if it wanted one, but the carrier itself is only the visible part of the force. France's single-carrier model and British thinking about carriers and LHDs with ski ramps show the accompanying need for air groups, airborne warning, anti-submarine aircraft, and fleet-protection roles. This is a compact watch point for the recurring lesson that naval aviation is a force-structure commitment, not just a hull purchase.