In terms of sheer numbers B-N was correct, in terms of military value it's a lot less, but I'd agree that the P2000s are good opportunities for junior officers to get some responsibility and sort the wheat from the chaff in terms of future development.
I'd also say that the argument that the argument is neither ''capability better than numbers'' nor ''numbers better than capability''. We need enough ships of an appropriate class to service the various standings tasks we have, there is a thread elsewhere about the SSBN requirement for four hulls to maintain Continuous At Sea Deterrence and a similar argument applies to each of our commitments. Adding to that a margin for deep maintenance then numbers do matter. However if we can increase availability and become innovative about mannning then we can reduce the number of hulls required to service a task. Whilst it's a reasonable argument I'm not convinced that we can do that with the hulls we have now and I'm sceptical that the hulls in build and under development are likely to manage it either. The other aspect of that is that a more capable hull can do different types of job, which is handy if you're servicing a task on the other side of the globe and need to swing from one posture to the other. How many of us has managed a deployment without a programme change a week whilst we've been away?
From a tactical standpoint, regardless of whether it's AAW, ASuW or ASW you get more effect from two hulls working in co-operatively than you do from two working separately; mutual protection, range enhancement etc. If you're doing Amphib work then you need hulls to protect the transports as well as provide gunnery support. So there is a good argument for greater numbers of hulls. The other argument is, if you lose one hull with lots of capability then you've lost all that capability. If you lose one of several hulls then you haven't lost the whole capability, maybe just part of it.
Personally I lean towards the ''more hulls'' side of the argument.
It's not simple, but he's come up with a simplistic soundbite. Those who appreciate that it's not simple realise just how that makes him sound, but for your average punter on the street.......