Why Columbia-class missile-tube counts come in modules

Should the Columbia class have returned to twenty ballistic-missile tubes instead of sixteen?

A higher count is structurally possible in four-tube increments, but it would require more common missile compartments and a larger boat.

The panel initially assumes an eight-cell module, then checks and corrects the common missile compartment to four tubes. Sixteen tubes therefore use four modules, and twenty are technically possible with a fifth. Returning to the Ohio class's twenty-four would require six modules and a longer boat. The on-air correction shows why the architecture matters. Missile-tube totals follow the module design rather than changing one cell at a time.