Fundamentally speaking, the combat capability and existence value of supercarriers have been questioned, which is caused by the relative decline in their combat capability, that is, under the existing technical conditions, it is unable to provide necessary support for carrier-based aircraft with a longer combat radius, a larger bomb load, and faster speed, and it is difficult to complete increasingly difficult combat missions.

Actually, it's clear by making a comparison.

Take, for example, the combat radius. In the Second Global War, most of the heavy bombers had a combat radius of between 1,000 and 3,000 kilometers, while the carrier-based fighters of the same period could reach 800 to 2,000 kilometers, and several carrier-based aircraft in the later stage of the war also reached 2,500 kilometers, which could escort the bombers throughout the process. It is clear that even compared with heavy bombers, carrier-based fighters at that time did not suffer in terms of combat radius.

After the end of the war, the combat radius of bombers became larger and larger, and in only 10 years, it was expanded from 3,000 kilometers to 5,000 kilometers. In these 10 years, the combat radius of carrier-based fighters has been reduced from 2,500 kilometers to less than 1,000 kilometers.

Although the combat radius of carrier-based fighters has been significantly increased to 1,500 kilometers under the impetus of technology, and can be extended by refueling in the air, compared with the combat radius of 5,000 kilometers for bombing maneuvers, this combat radius of carrier-based fighters is not worth mentioning at all.

With the advent of air-launched cruise missiles, the gap in combat radius has become even more prominent.

As for the attack power, which is tied to the ammo load, it goes without saying.

During the Second Global War, even the best heavy bombers had a bomb load of only 12 tons, while the maximum bomb load of contemporaneous carrier-based attack aircraft was generally about 4 tons, and some could reach 6 tons. In proportional terms, equal to one-third to one-half of the bomber.

After the war, the bomb load of bombers skyrocketed, 30 tons was the lowest standard, and the "H-9" and B-52 and a few other bombers had a limit of 50 tons of bomb load, the "H-10A" set a record of 68 tons of overloaded bombs, and the B-1B of the Nuland Air Force also set a record of 64 tons of bombs. Even in a combat state, most strategic bombers can carry up to 20 tons of bombs.

Obviously, the bomb load of carrier-based attack aircraft simply cannot be compared.

Even the maximum bomb load of the "Attack-5" is only 10 tons, and the bomb load in combat state is generally controlled at about 4 tons.

In other words, compared to bombers, the bomb load of carrier-based attack aircraft is plummeting!

Moreover, speed, which had traditionally been seen as an advantage for tactical aircraft, changed very subtly after the Second World War.

For example, the "Zhan-9B" has a maximum speed of Mach 2.75, while the "H-10A" can fly to Mach 1.6, that is, the former is 1.72 times that of the latter. During the Second World War, carrier-based fighters generally flew at speeds more than twice as fast as heavy bombers of the same period.

It can be seen that the relative speed of carrier-based fighters has decreased!

It is precisely in this way that after the Second Global War, to be precise, after entering the jet age, carrier-based aviation basically lost its strategic strike capability and was reduced to a tactical force. As a direct result of this, aircraft carrier battle groups, which use carrier-based aviation as the main means of attack, not only have their attack strength become weaker, but are also more vulnerable to attack, and their overall combat capability is obviously much inferior to what it used to be.

In fact, before the outbreak of the Great War, this problem was already manifested, and it was highly valued.

If we do not consider the technical problems, the solution is very simple, that is, to expand the size and tonnage of the aircraft carrier, so that it can carry and operate carrier-based aircraft with better performance, that is, by improving the combat capability of carrier-based aircraft, so that the aircraft carrier battle group can keep up with the pace of the times.

After the end of the Second Global War, the Imperial Navy did just that.

The most representative is the first type of large aircraft carrier designed by the Imperial Navy after the war.

The primary indicator of this kind of "supercarrier," known as the "Imperial" class, is to carry and operate a twin-engine bomber with a take-off weight of 60 tons, extend the strike radius to 2,500 kilometers, and thus enable the carrier-based aviation to obtain a strategic strike capability comparable to that of the air force.

It is a pity that the "Imperial" class entered the jet age before construction began.

Because the piston propeller aircraft was eliminated, the "Imperial" class was also dismounted in this wave of the times, which became a big regret for the Imperial Navy.

It can be seen from this that when designing and building aircraft carriers, the first consideration is technical issues.

In a sense, that is, due to technical limitations, the tonnage and size of aircraft carriers cannot be expanded indefinitely.

In peacetime, the need to improve the combat capability of carrier-based aviation is not very urgent, after all, it is only facing a second- or third-rate opponent.

However, in times of war, especially in global wars, the problem of insufficient combat capability of carrier-based aviation units has become very prominent.

Looking back, the series of battles from the Battle of the Eastern Continent to the Khovai Islands have all proved without exception the deficiencies of the aircraft carrier battle group, that is, the lack of combat capability of the carrier-based aviation unit, which is tantamount to putting the carrier-based aviation unit in a dispensable situation.

From this point of view, it is not difficult to understand that no matter how good Stark is, this battle will definitely be lost.

Fundamentally, it is actually a lack of troops.

Relying on only 5 aircraft carriers, you want to take the Khowaii Islands? What's more, the distance between the Howai Islands and the west coast of Nuland is more than 5,000 kilometers, and the transit island, which is fiercely contested by the two sides, is more than 7,000 kilometers away from Los Angeles.

Theoretically, at least nine supercarriers must be mobilized for the Nuland Navy to have any hope of gaining battlefield air supremacy.

If nothing else, even if the 41st Task Force did not defeat the 52nd Task Force and was attacked by the Nuland Air Force with all its strength after dawn, and all three aircraft carriers were sunk, the Nuland Navy would only be able to take the transit island at most, and it would certainly not be able to capture the entire Howai Islands before the end of the year. When the Imperial Navy completes the deployment adjustment, especially after more than 10 mothballed large aircraft carriers have been restored to combat capability, the Nuland Navy will have to compete with the Imperial Navy for sea supremacy again, and those 5 aircraft carriers will not be enough at all.

It can be seen that sooner or later the Nuland Navy will taste defeat.

As for the heavy losses suffered by the 61st Task Force, in essence, they are still caused by the insufficient combat capability of the carrier-based aviation units.

Of course, the Imperial Navy has long been aware of these problems and has been exploring them.

To put it simply, it is how to improve the combat capability of carrier-based aviation.

The most ideal way is to improve the performance of carrier-based aircraft.

Unfortunately, there are almost insurmountable technical hurdles to this approach.

Of course, the Imperial Navy did not give up on this.

Strictly speaking, the Imperial Navy made every effort to promote the "Attack-12" project and develop carrier-based stealth attack aircraft, that is, to enhance the combat capability of carrier-based aviation, especially its attack capability, so that carrier-based aviation could obtain the ability to carry out strategic strike missions.

Even if this ability is relatively limited, it is much better than nothing.

However, the "Attack-12" is still a typical tactical attack aircraft, which only allows the Navy to obtain relatively limited strategic strike capabilities. Due to the limitations of combat radius and bomb load, the "Attack-12" still cannot be compared with the bombers of the Air Force, especially the "H-12", which also has stealth capabilities. Strictly speaking, it is impossible for carrier-based aviation to rely on technology to gain combat effectiveness that surpasses that of strategic aviation.

The reason is also simple, strategic aviation can also benefit from technological progress.

It is precisely for this reason that in order to improve the combat effectiveness of carrier-based aviation, it is still necessary to make a fuss about the size and tonnage, and it is also necessary to carry a platform with stronger operational capabilities.

Obviously, this requires a larger aircraft carrier!

It is a pity that due to technical limitations, the tonnage of aircraft carriers will certainly not be able to be increased without limits.

This problem was reflected in the design of the successor ship of the "Xue Yuanzheng" class.

Long before the outbreak of the Great War, to be precise, after Zhou Yongtao took office as the first assistant of the Empire, the Imperial Navy took advantage of the situation to start the development of the "Advanced Aviation Combat Platform".

In fact, it is the next generation of supercarriers.

Although the project was downgraded shortly after it was launched, the main reason is that the performance of the "Xue Yuanzheng" class is strong enough, and the planned construction work will continue for decades, and there is no need to build a new aircraft carrier for the time being, but the work at the basic level has not stopped.

According to the requirements put forward by the Navy, the "advanced aviation combat platform" needs to have the ability to carry and operate 60-ton carrier-based aircraft, preferably to 80 tons.

The reason is also very simple, in order to achieve the tactical performance also proposed by the Imperial Navy, the take-off weight of the carrier-based attack aircraft will definitely exceed 60 tons. Taking the "Attack-12" as an example, in order to increase the combat radius to 2,500 kilometers, it is necessary to increase the take-off weight by at least 30%, from 45 tons to 60 tons, while keeping other performance unchanged. As for carrier-based fighters, in order to meet the performance indicators proposed by the Imperial Navy, a combat radius of 2,500 kilometers, a flight speed of Mach 3.5, a cruise speed of Mach 1.8, an altitude limit of 30,000 meters, and the loading of 8 long-range air-to-air missiles in the internal bomb bay, the take-off weight will reach at least 80 tons.

Herein lies the problem.

Even according to the lower standard, that is, carrying and operating a 60-ton carrier-based attack aircraft, the length of the aircraft carrier's flight deck needs to reach 370 meters. Even if a better catapult, such as an electromagnetic catapult, can be used to achieve more ejection power without increasing the length of the take-off zone, the length of the landing zone would need to be extended, so the flight deck would need to be at least 350 meters long.

In addition, there is the question of width.

The larger the take-off weight, the larger the size, so the standby area had to be taken into account when designing, and the width of the flight deck needed to be expanded.

As a result, the tonnage of the aircraft carrier will be too large for the Navy to accept!

Even if designed to low standards, the displacement of the "future aviation combat platform" will exceed 150,000 tons. If it is designed to a high standard, it will exceed 200,000 tons.

Obviously, such a huge aircraft carrier, even if it can be built, may not be able to operate.

In addition, in order to control the tonnage, a large number of technical difficulties need to be solved, such as electromagnetic catapults.

If these technical problems are not solved, the technical equipment for the construction of the "Xue Yuanzheng" class will still be adopted, and the tonnage of the "future aviation combat platform" will be increased by 20%.

There is no doubt that whether it is 150,000 tons or 240,000 tons, it is more than the capacity of the Imperial Navy.

If nothing else, less than 10% of the Imperial Navy's military ports can serve 150,000-ton ships, and none of them can accommodate 240,000-ton ships. If the main military port is expanded and renovated for this purpose, the investment in infrastructure construction will be as high as hundreds of billions of gold yuan.

The key is that there are many technical problems in the construction of a "200,000-ton aircraft carrier" that cannot be solved in the short term.

The most prominent is the structural strength of the hull.

Because of its huge size, it was necessary to increase the performance of the high-strength alloy steel used to build the hull by more than 50% while maintaining the same maneuverability. It's a pity that high-strength alloy steel, which meets the requirements, will not be born until after the end of the Third Global War.

With the use of traditional steel, the maneuverability of the aircraft carrier will inevitably be greatly reduced, which will also lead to a reduction in combat capability.

In a sense, with the technical level before the Third Global War, a 100,000-ton supercarrier such as the "Xue Yuanzheng" class is already the limit.

It is precisely in this way that, after the completion of the demonstration, the "future aviation combat platform" was turned into a technical reserve.

It must be said that the Imperial Navy only compromised with reality, which did not mean that it gave up the pursuit of larger tonnage aircraft carriers.

Before the outbreak of the Great War, the Imperial Navy had been actively looking for a solution to the "tonnage limit", and set up a number of military scientific research projects for this purpose.

Some of these projects became the main basis for launching the development of the "future aircraft carrier" during the war.

The most representative is the "detachable segmented mobile combat platform" that was separated from the "future aviation combat platform" and codenamed "magnetic chain".

The core of the scheme is actually to solve the problem of insufficient structural strength caused by too large size by splitting and combining.

It's just that there is a very prominent problem in this plan, which makes the Navy feel that it is unacceptable.

Extremely poor maneuverability, basically no tactical maneuverability!

According to the original design scheme, it is composed of three sections with a length of 150 meters, 125 meters and 175 meters respectively by twisting, and each section has a power system and a propulsion system, of which the maneuverability of the main section of 175 meters is equivalent to that of a large warship, and the other two sections only have the navigation ability of auxiliary ships. When combined, it can provide a 450-meter-long through runway, and there are two catapults with a length of 140 meters at the front of the runway, which can accelerate the 45-ton carrier-based aircraft from a standstill to 350 kilometers per hour, ensuring that the carrier-based aircraft can still take off with full load under windless conditions. However, the speed in the combined state is only 12 knots, and it can only maneuver in a limited range, which means that if it is attacked, it can only be defended with the weapons it carries.

None of this is a big deal, if anything.

What really makes the Imperial Navy unacceptable is that the combat platform basically has no battlefield maneuverability, which is equivalent to a sea airfield that can only move slowly.

Obviously, a maritime airfield, which can only be deployed on a fixed basis, is certainly not very attractive.

Among other things, the Imperial Navy has hundreds of military bases, and the airfields built on the islands will not be sunk by enemy torpedoes.

It was precisely because of this that the program was not taken seriously by the Imperial Navy before the war.

It was not until the outbreak of the Great War that the program ushered in its second spring after the changes in demand, especially after the traditional tactical theory was overthrown.