"Less than half of Britain's nuclear powered Trafalgar class submarines are availible for operational duties it has emerged.

Newspaper reports said six out of seven of the subs capable of carrying cruise missiles were out of action, either in dry dock or being tested.

The reports raised fears about safety and operational readiness of the navy."

It must be normal for all navies (apart from USN) to operate at reduced capacity in times of peace, right? I remember earlier this year the Brit media were getting worked up over news that a major anti-sub exercise was cancelled to conserve fuel. Another story was that morale was being damadged when gunners were ordered to shout "bang" instead of pulling triggers/pressing buttons in what was supposed to be a live fire exercise.