How rough of a sea could a Jet Seaplane operate from?
Use of Seaplanes and Integration within a Sea Base seems to indicate that conditions at sea, globally, only exceed sea state 5 less than 10% of the time, and sea state 4 only 15% of the time (the graph they use is a bit hard for my eye to read). So any seaplane jet could be capable of operation in almost any of the same conditions a carrier jet could. Yes, they are going to be more expensive than an equivalent carrier jet (already more expensive than an equivalent land-based jet), but versatility, and the lower cost of entry in terms of outfitting a carrier, has to count for something.
And in terms of tenders, they don't need to be surface based. Submarine tenders could surface, refuel, rearm, or swap crews, and then submerge.
Use of Seaplanes and Integration within a Sea Base seems to indicate that conditions at sea, globally, only exceed sea state 5 less than 10% of the time, and sea state 4 only 15% of the time (the graph they use is a bit hard for my eye to read). So any seaplane jet could be capable of operation in almost any of the same conditions a carrier jet could. Yes, they are going to be more expensive than an equivalent carrier jet (already more expensive than an equivalent land-based jet), but versatility, and the lower cost of entry in terms of outfitting a carrier, has to count for something.
And in terms of tenders, they don't need to be surface based. Submarine tenders could surface, refuel, rearm, or swap crews, and then submerge.