Balancing naval affordability and combat power

Should flexibility and cost-effectiveness be the defining requirements of a future navy?

They are important, but affordability must be balanced against combat power because numerous cheap ships may still lose to fewer stronger opponents.

Adaptable ships could shift between peacetime and wartime roles while controlling endurance, service life, and total cost. Cost-effectiveness is a legitimate objective, but it does not settle how much combat power each hull needs. A fleet of cheap ships can be defeated if an opponent spends more on individually stronger vessels. Naval history more often rewards powerful ships than sheer quantities of underpowered ones, so designers must balance affordability against capability.