[Sabin]

However, the Sovereign is an next-generation ship meant for fighting the borg, right?

That probably means that despite it's smaller size, it is actually better armed and designed for battle, while the Galaxy was designed to be general-purpose, which included room for civilian families, if I remember correctly. It is also a new design, with new technology, which can make quite a difference when the size and the efficiency of the parts involved are taken into account.

Also, the Galaxy X is probably a future refit of the Galaxy, which would probably negate some of the the inherent problems associated with the regular design, but not all. However, that would not effect the amount of weapons on a sovereign, since the Sovereign was designed from the beginning to be an next-generation vessal, so it may be refitted to be able to meet future needs, in a manner that is superior to a galaxy, since the technology is better.

Summery:

Advanced technology and design would reduce the amount of space required for parts and may yield the following benefits:

-Smaller vessel size for the same number of parts
that a larger, less advanced, vessel would have.

-Improved combat ability, due to smaller size and the benefits that would impart.

-Similer amount of durability that a large vessal would have, since the componets would still have the same amount of damage resistence that a larger part would have, since the design of it's structure is superior.

The cost of this, of course, is that the price of constructing a Sovereign may be higher, but that is to be expected of advanced technology and design.

[ February 16, 2004, 00:18: Message edited by: Sabin ]