Installed launch capacity can differ from the loadout carried on a routine deployment. Keeping some cells empty is normal when a ship is not expected to face an immediate missile threat, while a major operation may justify a full magazine. The 2021 Queen Elizabeth carrier deployment is given as a likely full-load example, with the explicit caveat that this information was informal rather than officially sourced. That distinction matters when comparing paper missile totals with usable readiness in a crisis.
Notable Point · 34:25-35:47
Why a warship may sail with empty launch cells
A ship's VLS capacity is not always its everyday missile load; navies can carry a lower peacetime allowance and fill cells for a high-risk deployment.