Survivability may favour larger warships

Will modern warships return to armour belts as missile magazines are exhausted and at-sea reloads remain difficult?

Armour belts may not return, but subdivision and size will matter more: larger ships can absorb more damage, carry larger magazines, and operate more steadily in rough seas.

Armour belts may not return, but internal subdivision will probably become more important. Small ships are not automatically more survivable simply because they are harder to find, while a larger hull has more volume to absorb damage and may survive additional hits. It can also carry a deeper VLS magazine and remain steadier in rough seas, improving the prospects for difficult at-sea reload work. Larger crewed vessels may therefore form the resilient core of future groups, with smaller optionally crewed or uncrewed craft operating around them. The answer links survivability to internal volume, endurance, and force architecture rather than armour alone.