Use maritime geography to test the value of mobile air power

The domestic half of the strategic test asks how much security a state derives from the sea around it. A large maritime border or exclusive economic zone may demand surveillance and protection even without distant expeditionary commitments. Carrier aviation also offers mobility when fixed air bases are likely to be attacked or degraded. That mobility is not invisibility, because photographs, chokepoint observations, AIS data, and poor operational security can reveal a task group's movements. The design case therefore depends on both geographic need and realistic assumptions about concealment.