A Renaissance for Small Aircraft Carriers?
Light carriers (CVLs) have had a very troubled history.  They were the very first aircraft carriers, from USS Langley &amp; HMS Argus, and were frequently built to use up extra treaty tonnage (USS Ranger, IJN Ryujo) or when fleet carriers weren&#x27;t ready yet (USS Independence class).  But they almost always exhibited poor seakeeping characteristics and could carry only small air wings, which prevented them from being very useful in combat.  Light carriers haven&#x27;t proven the decisive element in <i>any</i> major sea battles, and major naval powers usually relegated them to playing support roles for fleet carriers or doing aircraft-ferrying or escort jobs.<p>I would bet against them being all that useful now, too.<p>Escort carriers (CVEs), however, don&#x27;t get nearly enough praise.  Aside from one decisive strategic victory (the Battle of Samar) where U.S. escort carriers beat back the main body of the Japanese navy under overwhelming odds, they also were a major factor in winning the Battle of the Atlantic.  Convoy losses plummeted once escort carriers started being attached to convoys.<p>I&#x27;d bet that the future of carrier warfare lies in a &quot;drone swarm in a box&quot;.  Outfit ordinary shipping containers to launch &amp; retrieve a swarm of drones with a combat radius of a few hundred miles, and then you could load these onto ordinary freighters.  They&#x27;d create an effective deterrent for any surface or submarine warfare, and could be added to existing vessels without modification.