The Navy doesn’t have nearly enough ships and submarines to deter or defeat China in war. It also apparently lacks the leadership to fix this dire problem.

That is the only conclusion that can be drawn from the Navy’s cancellation of a traditional briefing for journalists at its annual shipbuilding trade show. According to reports, it canceled the briefing because it is embarrassed by a new service report that found endemic delays in the building of all of our most capable warships, including the Virginia-class attack submarines, Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, Constellation-class frigates, and Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.