But the author's point is that the carrier size (as a fraction of total naval resources) concentrated in a single ship only makes sense when you need economies of scale for building a sea/air interface. And that heavy concentration in an ultimately vunerable place like the carrier is a defining feature of naval warfare.
If we could launch single air planes from tiny cruisers efficiently, there would no carriers and naval strategy would be completely different. There aren't similar economies of scale for supplies, living quarters, extra fuel, and so on.
If we could launch single air planes from tiny cruisers efficiently, there would no carriers and naval strategy would be completely different. There aren't similar economies of scale for supplies, living quarters, extra fuel, and so on.