Matador.es
02-02-11, 04:51 AM
USS Abraham Lincoln provides air support to Afghanistan
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51031000/jpg/_51031406_carriermore.jpg (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12323351)
When British troops in Helmand need air support, it doesn't only come from airfields within Afghanistan itself - it may come from a floating runway 500 miles away.
The UK may have given up on aircraft carriers for the rest of this decade as a result of the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review, but it is clear that the US Navy sees the carrier as adding a critical element to the coalition effort - including flexibility.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/51031000/jpg/_51031406_carriermore.jpg (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12323351)
When British troops in Helmand need air support, it doesn't only come from airfields within Afghanistan itself - it may come from a floating runway 500 miles away.
The UK may have given up on aircraft carriers for the rest of this decade as a result of the recent Strategic Defence and Security Review, but it is clear that the US Navy sees the carrier as adding a critical element to the coalition effort - including flexibility.