What Germany sought from a risk fleet

Was Germany trying to match the Royal Navy, or was its naval expansion mainly political bluster?

Germany pursued a risk fleet: enough ships that Britain could not destroy it without becoming vulnerable elsewhere.

Germany did not need to equal the Royal Navy ship for ship. It needed enough strength that defeating it would leave Britain exposed to other naval powers. The calculation was psychological as well as operational, because Britain depended on command of the sea to sustain its empire. The prospect of a costly victory could itself have political and strategic force.