Carrier scouting belonged inside the expected sequence of a Pacific war. Japanese interception-attrition operations aimed to draw the American fleet westward, reduce it during the approach, destroy its reconnaissance assets, and then seek decisive battle. US Naval War College games identified this logic well before the war. Long-range patrol aircraft and carrier aviation became critical for attack and for maintaining an operational picture across a vast ocean. Wide-area reconnaissance let the fleet advance with caution, detect attritional moves, and protect the supply lines on which the advance depended. Information and air scouting were inseparable from American carrier strike doctrine.
Chapter · 1:27:20-1:29:39
Reconnaissance counters Japan's interception-attrition plan
US games identify Japan's plan to attrit a westward-moving fleet before decisive battle and make carriers and patrol aircraft central to avoiding that trap.