Carriers don't operate alone in a vacuum. US carrier groups include
subs, frigates, and destroyers, all of which either are or have assets
dedicated to killing the enemy sub threat. Fixed-wing dedicated ASW
doesn't make AS much sense now as it did twenty years ago, anyway,
since the number and quality of hostile sub threats has decreased
without the USSR pushing the envelope, and there are alternatives for
airborne ASW that make more sense than Hoovers. UAVs and
lighter-than-air platforms with dedicated sensors could provide a lot
more coverage with a lot less manpower for maintenance and operation.