Royal Navy exercises had already indicated that a carrier force needed roughly eighteen fighters for air defence. Some planners wondered whether radar warning would allow smaller fighter complements, but experience quickly showed that detection did not replace interception. Armoured-carrier air groups were rebalanced as the requirement became clear. The later rise in fighter proportions also reflected the arrival of more capable fighter-bombers that could perform offensive work as well as air defence.
Notable Point · 1:36:48-1:38:03
Radar did not remove the need for fighters
Interwar exercises identified a need for about eighteen fighters, and wartime experience showed that radar improved warning without reducing that requirement.