The setting's power and faster-than-light systems are too costly to distribute efficiently across many small hulls. Battleships and carriers therefore grow to multi-million-ton scale, with one emphasizing armor and direct weapons while the other trades some of that protection and firepower for embarked fighters. The fighters provide high sublight performance but normally cannot travel faster than light on their own. Smaller long-range warships remain small battleships within this economic model, while cruisers combine roles at capital-ship scale. There is no conventional tier of small escorts.
Notable Point · 21:34-22:52
How expensive faster-than-light drives reshape fleet composition
The Castle Federation setting uses expensive FTL machinery to explain why fleets favor very large battleships and carriers over conventional escort hierarchies.