Indomitable gives Phillips an organic reconnaissance system as well as fighters. Albacores and Fulmars can search farther into the South China Sea, make Force Z harder to surprise, and locate Japanese transports before they unload. Carrier aircraft can then direct surface ships or conduct their own attacks against ammunition and food supplies. Those information advantages enable both fleet survival and the sustained interdiction campaign on which the alternate defense of Malaya depends.
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Indomitable's reconnaissance could reshape the Malayan campaign
Albacores and Fulmars extend the fleet's search radius, reduce the chance of surprise, and locate the Japanese supply ships sustaining the advance down Malaya.