The suggested 144-cell limit reflects an estimate of an affordable missile load. A much larger battery becomes harder to fill. The argument links declining arsenal-ship appeal with missile prices rising as production quantities fell. A concept attractive when missiles were relatively cheap loses an advantage as loadout cost increases. Depending on capacity and weapons, the speculative ammunition bill is described as reaching billions or even tens of billions of pounds.
Notable Point · 4:13:59-4:14:57
Arsenal ships and the cost of filling launchers
Large missile batteries are limited by ammunition cost as well as ship cost.