The carrier will be fine and the title is a hair click-baity as the deployment time is more politically determined.
The real magic is that most ships run a lot rougher than the public is aware of and that they can be underway for a long time, provided that supplies are kept steady. The article doesn’t lie when it mentions sea water being an issue and it absolutely is for the aircraft. However, there are plenty of airmen that are on deck to do multiple wash jobs per day and aircraft maintenance cycles don’t stop just because they are underway.
Eventually, enough aircraft will go down for long enough that regular flight ops can’t be sustained. Regular wash jobs or not, time (and salt mist) will eventually take it’s toll on airframes but it will take longer than 6-8 months to corrode away a few squadrons.
The carrier will be fine and the title is a hair click-baity as the deployment time is more politically determined.
The real magic is that most ships run a lot rougher than the public is aware of and that they can be underway for a long time, provided that supplies are kept steady. The article doesn’t lie when it mentions sea water being an issue and it absolutely is for the aircraft. However, there are plenty of airmen that are on deck to do multiple wash jobs per day and aircraft maintenance cycles don’t stop just because they are underway.
Eventually, enough aircraft will go down for long enough that regular flight ops can’t be sustained. Regular wash jobs or not, time (and salt mist) will eventually take it’s toll on airframes but it will take longer than 6-8 months to corrode away a few squadrons.