Runway-launched refueling tankers will always be superior to carrier-launched refueling planes. Diplomatic relations with questionable regimes for the purpose

Runway-launched refueling tankers will always be superior to carrier-launched refueling planes. Diplomatic relations with questionable regimes for the purpose of securing runways and supply lines for aerial refueling tankers will almost always be cheaper--in terms of both cash and international reputation--than building carriers (including the carrier-group support craft), training Navy crews, and deploying the carrier fleets to the desired operating theaters. A carrier-launched refueling drone is not a cure-all. It fills a specific mission niche better than the existing alternatives.