Reducing hull numbers leaves each remaining ship with more missions, which encourages larger and more expensive designs. Their rising price then becomes a reason to cut the number again. The immediate example is a prediction that Type 26 would be Britain's last billion-pound escort because future ships would shrink. Similar arguments were being made before the War of 1812, yet new technology repeatedly made ships more complex. Miniaturization does not automatically lower warship costs when each hull is expected to do more.
Notable Point · 38:09-39:34
Why smaller, cheaper warships remain elusive
A Type 26 cost claim prompts a historical warning that naval technology has repeatedly increased ship complexity even when policymakers expected smaller and cheaper replacements.