A small production batch can absorb refinements whose total cost becomes substantial across a large class. In the illustrative calculation, raising a ship's price from $2 billion to $2.1 billion adds $200 million to an order for two. Across twenty-two ships, the same change adds $2.2 billion, approximately the price of another hull. The decision then compares the additional equipment on each ship with the availability and capacity supplied by one more ship. These are hypothetical costs used to explain programme scale, not quoted Maya contract prices.
Notable Point · 1:36:44-1:38:39
Refinement costs more across a large destroyer programme
The same per-ship improvement can cost a fraction of a hull in a small batch or consume an entire extra ship in a large order.