Tillman-scale battleships as a two-coast deterrent

If numbers cannot be shifted quickly between coasts, exceptionally large battleships might become a more attractive deterrent. Such a choice would be costly because rival powers could answer with their own designs or comparable infrastructure programmes. American planners would be choosing between more ships, more imposing individual ships, and the shore facilities needed to sustain either option. The Tillman example shows how canal geography could reshape the balance between quantity, strength, and mobility without predicting a specific ship.