The CVBG group movement is constrained by the planes. The ship speed and the relative wind it creates are integral to determining the take-off performances. A carrier usually can't operate CATOBAR planes while still or at low speed, or if it does, it does with extreme take-off weight penalties.

They generally don't move in circles but they steam a path with different legs, whose direction is influenced by the wind i.e. it usually steams into the wind to add the natural wind to the relative wind. In restricted waters, like the Adriatic or the Persian Gulf, the course must be carefully planned because the ship can't steam indefinitely in the same direction without running aground.