Japanese yards sustain regular production through civilian and naval orders. Keeping that work flowing reduces costs compared with beginning a programme from scratch, which changes how the cost of a Mogami frigate should be assessed. An Arleigh Burke replacement faces a similar comparison: it must bear the cost of establishing a new programme while competing against another generation from an existing line. British dreadnought-era yards likewise combined Royal Navy orders with merchant ships and foreign warships. Extra orders in the alternate programme would therefore draw on an industry already in production.
Notable Point · 45:39-47:05
What continuous shipbuilding does to programme costs
Japan's Mogami and America's Arleigh Burke programmes illustrate why the cost of an established production line differs from starting a new one.