What a 22-submarine fleet could keep forward

How might the Royal Navy employ a hypothetical fleet of twenty-two submarines?

Using a rough thirds model, about seven could be forward, seven in transit or preparation, and seven in refit, with roughly one additional boat.

A hypothetical fleet of twenty-two submarines can be divided into rough thirds. About seven boats could be forward on operations. Another seven would be in transit or handling the preparation and recovery surrounding deployments, while seven would be in refit, leaving roughly one additional hull. This is a planning illustration rather than a fixed readiness guarantee. The arithmetic shows why a navy's total submarine count is much larger than the force it can sustain on station.