Aircraft deliver personnel quickly, but those troops arrive without much equipment unless matériel is pre-positioned or flown separately. Airlift capacity is finite and may be more valuable for urgent cargo than for moving thousands of people. A large ship can transport a mass formation in one voyage, although a commercial cruise ship may lack the endurance and survivability wanted in wartime. Sealift therefore complements strategic air transport by carrying people and equipment at a scale that would require many flights.
Notable Point · 2:04:50-2:05:31
Why armies still need sea lift
A modern cruise-ship comparison opens a concise explanation of why moving troops by sea remains strategically important.