A central criticism of fleet planning in 2021 is the lack of capacity to absorb losses. The Royal Navy and French Navy are cited as examples, while the fire loss of an American amphibious ship is used to show how one casualty can disrupt a wider force structure. Repeated carrier deployments create another form of strain. China's rapid shipbuilding faces a related constraint because trained crews and suitable commanding officers cannot be produced as quickly as hulls. Spare capacity therefore has to include people and deployment time as well as ships.
Notable Point · 53:17-55:13
A fleet without loss capacity is strategically brittle
Efficient peacetime fleets become fragile when one lost ship, an overstretched carrier cycle, or a shortage of trained crews disrupts the entire force structure.