Next year it begins, Ohio-class starts retiring and when Columbia boomers arrive, they will be the most advanced and most stealthy ballistic missile submarines in the world. However, concerns about the timing of capacity downsizing while China escalates production are valid. The Navy is essentially trading 88 missile tubes for a more modern, stealthy, and efficient fleet. The Navy argues the deterrent effect remains the same because of higher availability & warhead flexibility. There are those that disagree though and think a roughly 32% reduction in total launch platforms across the sea-based leg of the triad, which had already been reduced by 17% for treaty compliance a decade ago, is a huge mistake. Some are now suggesting to bridge the gap using Nuclear-Armed Sea-Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM-N) on SSN or SSGN submarines. While SLCM-N will have its uses, they should not be the answer to strategic deterrence shortfalls.