In FY08 we had 51 SSN with 40 operationally ready.

A quarter century later in FY23 we have 49 SSN, 96% of the boats we had in FY08, but only 31 operationally ready, only 78% of what we had in FY08.

That is a 4% drop in the SSN we have in inventory, but a 22% fall in what is available to go to war.

We don’t have 2 fewer SSN, we have 9 few[er] SSN.

[Eight years ago, we had 53 SSNs and only nine in depot for maintenance, so the decline is worse than even this demonstrates. If China is the big risk in the next generation — and there is plenty of reason to believe that — then the decline in SSNs is very worrisome indeed. — Ed]