The Vigilante's role went beyond taking photographs because its flights could signal carrier reach and discourage an adversary from acting. Sensors could collect useful imagery while flying along an allied border, imposing pressure without crossing into hostile airspace. Work on the X-47B and related systems can be read partly as an effort to recover carrier-based reconnaissance and information-gathering capacity. Later Super Hornets and F-35s acquired reconnaissance functions, but the mission remained secondary for those fighter and strike designs. The air wing had lost the reach and focus of a dedicated platform.
Notable Point · 34:23-38:48
Reconnaissance aircraft extended a carrier's deterrent presence
Fast reconnaissance flights gathered intelligence while signaling that a US carrier could observe and reach events far beyond the horizon.