A larger Kiev air group and a better Yak-38

The counterfactual imagines a more conventional Kiev retaining its missiles while embarking roughly twenty Yak-38s alongside twenty helicopters. The historical Forger could already intercept aircraft despite being slower than the Harrier. Its ability to fly low and slow also appears in a Jack Ryan novel, where a Yak-38 encounters two waiting Tomcats; that episode is a fictional illustration. During the actual Cold War, combined US and NATO carrier strength dominated the surface contest, while Soviet submarines, bombers, and large missile inventories posed substantial threats. Better Kievs and Forgers might have created a more credible Soviet surface-air challenge earlier. Decisions such as cancellation of CVA-01 could then have looked much more dangerous. The proposed forty-aircraft group and its strategic effects remain an invitation to explore alternate history.