smaller is not cheaper, btw, JSB. steel is cheap, systems are expensive, so smaller ships with the same systems are actually more expensive to build and maintain because it all has to fit in smaller spaces.
There's a bell curve to it though. Make things too small and you have to come up with fancy and expensive workarounds. On the other hand making a ship larger isn't without its own costs. All that extra space needs electrical fittings, paint, fire suppression systems, surveillance systems, alarm systems, hydraulics, furniture etc. Which takes crew to maintain and provide damage control. Who needs to be fed, housed and paid. Not to mention that detailed design work is hellishly expensive in and of itself.
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