The reported plan moves from an initial two ships to ten, with an eventual goal of twenty to twenty-five. That larger goal receives a more favorable reaction, although the preference for a larger opening batch remains. Orders and payment provide firmer grounds for confidence than a stated ambition, and ships actually in service provide the strongest evidence. A British example gives the sequence of a study calling for twelve destroyers, an order for nine, and delivery of six. The comparison explains skepticism about treating a proposed final class size as an assured fleet.
Notable Point · 17:03-19:24
The gap between an announced fleet target and delivered ships
The twenty-to-twenty-five-ship ambition receives a qualified welcome, with a British procurement example explaining why announced totals invite caution.