The counterfactual still has to pay for its ships. A tender program might displace HMS Unicorn or another naval priority, though Henderson's advocacy makes Unicorn likely to survive. Merchant-type hulls would be comparatively simple and inexpensive, but no existing naval program offers an obvious source of funds. The plausible route is additional Treasury spending once trade protection is framed as a persuasive requirement. Political justification is therefore part of the force-design problem rather than an afterthought.
Notable Point · 1:03:53-1:05:42
The tender counterfactual still needs a budget source
Simple merchant-type hulls reduce the cost, but Treasury still has to accept trade protection as an additional funded requirement.