The continued emphasis on nuclear-powered attack submarines shows how some capabilities carry benchmark weight beyond fleet size. Drones and other uncrewed systems could trigger another sharp change in what navies compare. Battleships reached their strongest benchmark position shortly before aircraft carriers and naval aviation displaced them. Modern warships often privilege speed, firepower, and internal subdivision over heavy armour, which makes Fisher's design instincts look more prescient. The caveat is timing: missiles can achieve the reach and engagement speed that guns could not, so Fisher's concept was roughly forty to fifty years ahead of the technology.
Notable Point · 49:14-50:37
SSNs, drones, and the next naval benchmark
Attack submarines, uncrewed systems, aircraft carriers, and missiles show how a technological discontinuity can move the standard away from the fleet type that previously embodied naval primacy.