Why the cruiser role needs workshops again

Should modern navies invest in cruiser-style ships?

Yes, because long-range operations and support for uncrewed craft require larger ships with maintenance spaces and clean, powered workshops.

Many large warships already perform cruising tasks without receiving the cruiser label. The missing element is often the internal space needed to sustain independent operations and repair accompanying uncrewed craft. A useful support ship would need mechanical shops and dedicated rooms for additive manufacturing, including suitable power and clean working conditions. Those facilities cannot simply be placed in a spare corner of an engineering compartment. As distributed systems grow, workshop capacity and the people able to use it may return as an important part of surface combatant design.