Infrastructure sets a navy's practical options

A fleet is more than its ships: it depends on the routes, stores, workshops, and repair space that keep equipment moving and usable. The comparison with heavy bomber support shows that complex forces can only be based where their logistics will sustain them. Operations in Afghanistan provide a more recent example because supplies had to be flown in or moved along unreliable roads. Railways, ports, canals, and roads move heavy loads, but each transport system also needs space and capacity for its own maintenance. Naval dockyards belong to this wider infrastructure and determine where a fleet can remain usable.