A persistent carrier presence requires enough destroyers, frigates, or cruisers to protect each task group as well as meet other standing commitments. Uncrewed vessels could supplement those numbers, though navies have not yet ordered autonomous escorts of sufficient size and capability for the role. One institutional concern is that remote links will encourage headquarters to replace local judgment with detailed control from home. Vietnam's airborne senior commanders and Winston Churchill's First World War signals to ships show how better communications can enable micromanagement without improving situational understanding.
Notable Point · 16:16-18:03
Uncrewed escorts and the danger of command from afar
Uncrewed ships may eventually supplement carrier escorts, but remote communications can tempt distant headquarters to overrule commanders who can see the local situation.