because surface fleet is still useful, just not AS useful as subs.I dont get this argument at all. Like if this was PN of 90s or 2000s id agree its better to get decent strike capability in submarines in FACs than to invest limited funds in regular surface fleet but now after we started the naval expansion and made this huge commitment to the surface fleet we are suddenly just not gonna give them the AD they desperately need to have a chance surviving the brahmos storm our neighbours posses. If we really were gonna leave our fleet to die in face of that why not spend the rest of that money on smaller FACs like more azmats. They have the same AShM capability and dont even have PDMS. We could spend the rest of money on Submarine force and land based attack vectors instead.
the surface fleet is primarily seen as a means of securing SLOCs/escorting, the sub force will ensure nobody dares to block them, or even approach our ports/coasts. The ships carry the bare minimum needed to defend themselves, but i dont think we're being realistic if we're not expecting surface losses. But thats exactly why PN's eventual sub fleet will be far larger than its major surface combatant fleet. I dont see any 'huge' investments in the surface fleet, just the bare minimum for a modern surface combatant, that meets our needs.





