Three Galaxy carriers lead to a componentised fleet

Abraham Lincoln, Citadel, and El Dorado make carrier conversion a programme rather than a one-off experiment. The first two are associated with the original group, while El Dorado sits just beyond it. That sequence leaves open the possibility that the nominal thirteen-ship total excluded other hulls or component sets. Storing modules without assembling complete ships would make construction totals difficult for outsiders to infer. Componentisation also lets Starfleet transfer systems among ships, repair damage, and configure hulls for different roles. The M4 Sherman analogy concerns production and maintenance: standard parts sustain a large force more efficiently than isolated bespoke designs.