Rebuilding shipbuilding skill through achievable designs

Building a contre-torpilleur placed demanding requirements on an industry recovering its shipbuilding experience. Buying expertise could help, but domestic capability still required practice. The recommendation is to begin with an achievable design and accumulate capability through successive ships. Early products could look less impressive on paper while providing a stronger basis for later work. Choosing a destroyer leader was sensible; pursuing an exceptional design immediately demanded too much. The Soviet Union's position outside the naval treaty system left other design options available.