Governments are more willing to buy tankers and stores ships than forward maintenance ships. RFA Diligence was Britain's surviving example, but a replacement seemed unlikely, while American vessels only partly resembled the same capability. Fuel and stores keep a ship supplied, yet neither can reproduce the workshops and trades needed to return damaged machinery to service. A fleet without that layer assumes either quick victory or access to undamaged shore repair. The disappearance of maintenance ships therefore becomes evidence that states are not equipped for a conflict lasting beyond the opening exchange.
Notable Point · 2:05-3:27
What the loss of maintenance ships says about war planning
The scarcity of dedicated maintenance ships suggests that modern fleets are poorly equipped to repair damage and sustain operations through a prolonged conflict.