In this 2021 assessment, China's growing combatant fleet still needs a more mature logistics force before it can sustain the reach sometimes attributed to it. Auxiliary design depends on a navy deciding how it intends to operate and what its ships and crews need. NATO compatibility can allow ships to refuel one another while leaving important differences in national support requirements. British provision for tea and coffee and American coffee storage provide concrete examples of those requirements. Working out an appropriate auxiliary can therefore take longer than building another combatant of a familiar type.
Notable Point · 50:08-52:32
Fleet auxiliaries encode a navy's operating doctrine
A 2021 assessment of China's support fleet leads into the national operating requirements that shape replenishment ships.