The older air wing combined specialization with reach. The Intruder’s attack range and the Prowler’s electronic-warfare reach, combined with stand-off weapons, could threaten targets while the carrier remained roughly 500 to 700 miles from the coast. That turns carrier defense into an immense maritime-surveillance problem because an opponent must first find a mobile base across a large ocean area. With much of the world’s population close to the sea, the reach also translated directly into strategic access without a nearby land base.
Notable Point · 1:15:49-1:17:18
Long-range specialists enlarge the ocean an enemy must search
Intruders and Prowlers let a carrier hold coastal targets at risk from hundreds of miles offshore, complicating surveillance before weapons range is even counted.