The proposed AS(X) tenders would replace Emory S. Land and Frank Cable and support submarines and surface ships. Their value includes repair, replenishment, rearming, and recovery. Workshops and specialized stores turn a tender into mobile industrial capacity that cannot be replaced as quickly as an ordinary cargo load. That concentration of capability would also make it valuable in contested logistics. The review argues that two ships would provide too little resilience and proposes eight, including four in reserve. The eight-ship figure is an alternative suggested in the discussion, not the plan's procurement total.
Notable Point · 3:34:35-3:36:05
Submarine tenders carry mobile repair and replenishment capacity
Two proposed replacement tenders are questioned because their workshops, stores, and support capacity would be difficult to replace during a war.