Gorshkov traces fleet warfare from gun duels into interactions among surface ships, torpedo craft, submarines, aircraft, mines, and increasingly missiles. In the missile era, defeating the incoming weapon can matter as much as destroying the ship or aircraft that launched it. That shift complicates comparisons because fighting power depends on different combinations of offensive forces, defensive measures, and supporting resources. He calls for an objective estimate of aggregate combat power across plausible situations rather than a simple hull-for-hull comparison. The necessary and sufficient combination that emerges from that calculation is what he calls a balanced fleet.
Chapter · 46:45-48:14
Missile defence changes how fleet combat power is measured
Gorshkov measures a fleet through combined weapons, carriers, defences, and force mixes rather than by comparing individual ship types alone.