Russia has highly capable older engineers and some strong younger engineers, but too little depth between those generations. Any country can face a similar shortage as its pool of experienced specialists shrinks. When a small, aging workforce carries many projects, adapting a familiar design reduces the amount of engineering that must be reinvented and checked. That conservatism may be a rational response to limited human capacity rather than a lack of ideas. Replacement planning therefore depends on the continuity of design knowledge as well as shipyard hardware.
Notable Point · 7:56-9:44
A thinning engineering workforce encourages familiar designs
Follow the workforce argument: a gap between veteran engineers and a small younger cohort can push a navy toward modifying designs it already understands.