A five-hull force would offer more flexibility than the four submarines required for continuous deterrence. One boat could remain in deep refit while the other four preserve the patrol, training, and readiness cycle. One available hull could serve as a guided-missile submarine, with missile compartments designed so ballistic-missile launch modules could be removed and cruise-missile tubes inserted. The proposal switches a submarine between dedicated configurations rather than mixing nuclear and conventional missiles in one operational load.
Notable Point · 1:49:39-1:50:06
A fifth submarine as an SSGN conversion reserve
A five-hull deterrent force could preserve the four-boat readiness cycle while allowing one submarine to serve in a guided-missile configuration.