The launch drone(s) only need enough energy for take-off, not the entire mission, and I'm thinking more like a small swarm of launch drones, not a single 'carrier' behemoth.
But as you say, maybe it makes less sense for these kinds of drone.
The idea comes from thinking about aircraft carriers. A carrier with 50-odd planes is $100B+ crown-jewel target, and in an age of drone swarms, massed smart missiles, etc, it must have a fairly short half-life. An alternative might be to launch single planes from small boats with 'virtual runways'. Pure speculation and thought-experiment of course.
But as you say, maybe it makes less sense for these kinds of drone.
The idea comes from thinking about aircraft carriers. A carrier with 50-odd planes is $100B+ crown-jewel target, and in an age of drone swarms, massed smart missiles, etc, it must have a fairly short half-life. An alternative might be to launch single planes from small boats with 'virtual runways'. Pure speculation and thought-experiment of course.