Force structure exposes a military mirage

Publicity cannot sustain a deterrent if an opponent can inspect the underlying force structure. Useful questions include how many tanks can operate, how many aircraft have actually been ordered, and how many older platforms each new system replaces. A ship or aircraft that is ten times as capable as its predecessor still cannot be in more than one place at a time. Deterrence therefore depends on critical mass as well as individual platform quality, because a battlegroup, brigade, division, corps, or fleet unit must be large enough for the crisis. Procurement quantities and realistic deployment capacity reveal whether advertised military strength is real.