Why fleets need both P-8s and carriers

Will the RAF or Royal Navy acquire another long-range maritime surveillance aircraft or bomber, given the cost and flexibility of aircraft compared with ships?

The RAF had already bought the P-8, and both shore-based patrol aircraft and carriers remain necessary for different tasks.

Shore-based maritime patrol aircraft and carriers solve different parts of the coverage problem. A P-8 can cover a very large area, and forward basing lets it maintain routine surveillance in places such as the Falklands without continuously stationing a carrier there. That coverage frees the carrier group to concentrate in higher-threat regions or remain available for a crisis. When deployed, the carrier brings mobile air power for strike and the defence of its own formation. Long-range drones and P-8s can provide maritime surveillance while the carrier retains the freedom to move its aircraft to a different strategic problem.