This is better than nothing:
Until recently, the US had no capital ships and just one or two destroyers in the Mediterranean, but the USS Essex, a small, flat-deck aircraft carrier used to launch US Marine Corps F-35B stealth jets that can take off almost vertically, just arrived off the horn of Africa, USNI News reports.
Though the Essex remains on the opposite side of the Suez Canal from Russia's ships in the Mediterranean, it's a quick-moving ship. Additionally, the F-35Bs can fly about 550 miles out from the ship in stealth configurations that make them hard to detect for enemy defenses.
Essex is an amphibious warfare platform with a large deck for Marine-carrying aircraft to operate. The F-35s would normally support the Marines in the amphibious group. But the planes can be used like any F-35 that is operated by the Navy or Air Force.
Essex is not an aircraft carrier capable of carrying up to four squadrons (and more if support aircraft are subtracted) of combat aircraft plus supporting aircraft.
But Essex is one of our "stealth carriers" that can function as a carrier for smaller missions. But I would not build small carriers to replace the big carriers.
Actually, I don't know why we can't send portions of carrier air wings to operate from land bases when no carrier is available.
