Chinook lift influenced the size of sea bases

Four Chinooks were critical to the intervention, and avoiding another self-deployment of more than three thousand miles became part of the case for carrying such helicopters by sea. Future forces could avoid that demanding ferry flight by carrying the helicopters closer to a crisis aboard ship. Accommodating Chinooks requires large flight decks, hangars, and support spaces because the aircraft themselves are not small. The Sierra Leone experience therefore links an operational lift requirement to the scale of the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.