Armour and machinery research precede battlecruisers

With the opening ships built, research shifts toward technologies that can make later designs lighter and more survivable. Better armour manufacturing can reduce protection weight, while improved engines and boilers raise the performance available from a small hull. Fast battlecruisers offer little immediate value while the fleet is confined to an Adriatic operating area with little room to exploit speed. Spending stays controlled during the research pause, then the technology budget returns to full funding. A desired ship type can remain strategically premature even before its technical design problems are solved.