The real capability the Navy needs in it’s aircraft is range.
Each new carrier fighter, fighter/bomber, or attack aircraft has had less range than the previous. This was all good until anti-ship missiles with 350-400+ nm range started popping up. With the F-35 it seems the Navy may be reversing this trend.
Example:
A-6 Intruder - combat range 878nm with full payload.
F/A-18E/F Super Hornet - 390nm for interdiction mission.
F-35 Lighting II - 669-760nm depending on configuration.
With the newer longer range anti-ship missiles the carrier has to stay so far off-shore that the aircraft they carry may not have the legs to make it to the beach.
The 1942 Doolittle raid on Tokyo is a fascinating story of how to achieve sufficient range to hit Tokyo from very long stand-off distance. Different time and tech, of course, but very fascinating nonetheless.