European forces are described as heavily dependent on shared or outside logistical support. One striking benchmark puts the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ahead of the rest of Europe in auxiliary tonnage and ship numbers. The RFA is still judged insufficient for British needs, especially when availability is considered. The comparison shows how little replenishment and support shipping other European navies maintained. A fleet may possess modern combatants yet remain unable to deploy or sustain them at meaningful distance without tankers, stores ships, repair capacity, and trained civilian-military crews.
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What Royal Fleet Auxiliary scale says about European logistics
The RFA is used as a benchmark for how thin European naval support capacity had become even though Britain itself still lacked enough auxiliaries.