The proposed fleet numbers follow declared missions rather than a preferred total of ships. Governments may decide that the world is safe enough to abandon particular operations, but the tasking should be removed before the supporting capacity is cut. Critical public services cannot usually hire another provider at the moment demand exceeds the system. Naval planning therefore has to align missions, risk tolerance, and funded hulls instead of quietly preserving every commitment while reducing the force beneath it.
Chapter ยท 44:20-46:33
Cut taskings before cutting ships
A smaller fleet is coherent only if government also accepts fewer missions and more risk instead of expecting the same output from fewer hulls.