See how a balanced air group reaches sixty aircraft

The worked example combines eighteen fighters for combat air patrol, another eighteen for strike, eighteen anti-submarine and rescue helicopters, and six early-warning helicopters. That already produces a force of about sixty aircraft. Moving helicopters to escorts can reduce the carrier's embarked total, but keeping both carrier and escort aviation strengthens resilience in a high-threat environment. Electronic warfare, multiple strike packages, or a larger surge patrol would raise the number further. The normal and surge capacities of the Queen Elizabeth class are then used to show how air-group size reveals the conflict scenarios a government expects to face.