Q&A · 22:15-23:17

TSR-2, CVA-01, and British global power

A British carrier counterfactual links TSR-2 and four CVA-01s to Falklands deterrence, global-power status, and allied carrier policy.

Question

What if Britain had kept both TSR-2 and four CVA-01 carriers?

Short answer

The answer argues that Britain would look like a much more robust global power, with the Falklands crisis likely altered and French carrier choices pulled into the comparison.

Notes

Four CVA-01 carriers and TSR-2 would represent a major shift in Britain's postwar strategic weight. In this counterfactual, the Falklands War probably would not happen in the same way, and Britain would sit near the top of the non-superpower global powers. A Britain with four carriers could also make a one-carrier French posture harder to justify.