Yeah but in RL, weapons take up a hell of a lot more space then they appear to do so in ST. Hell phaser emmiters don't appear to take space except on the external hull.
But you have to support them with the needed EPS conduits, and they require a substantial amount of power as well.
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Titanic class Starship Transport System
Length: 954 meters
Beam: 559 meters
Height: 280 meters
Maximum Warp Factor 7.65 (8.8 post-2357)
Cruising Warp Factor 5 (7 post-2357)
Armament: N/A
Shield system: Medium Capacity Shield Grid
(uprated to High Capacity in post-2357-refit ships)
Diplomatic Facilities: N/A
Overview: One of Starfleet's most mission-specific starships, the
Titanic is a gargantuan vessel whose ventral hull separates like a lid to reveal a huge cavity in which starships can be placed for transport should they be so badly damaged that their spaceframe is unable to withstand even low-warp tractor towing. Designed and built around the same time as the
Ambassador class starships, it was intended that it be capable of servicing all foreseeable starship designs... so far this has proven successful, although Starfleet Command has not allowed the capacity of the
Titanic to become a design consideration for future starships.
The
Titanic was designed at a time when individual starships were extremely valuable to Starfleet, as Starfleet's budget had been severely curtailed in previous decades due to the Khitomer accords, and Starfleet found itself cobbling together kitbashes in an effort to produce new starships with existing stockpiles. The loss of a potentially salvageable
Ambassador class (whose expensive construction had involved a bitter and drawn-out political battle in the Federation Council) was a nightmare political fiasco no Admiral in the fleet was willing to let occur... at least, not without "contingency plans" to cover their collective asses with. (It was hoped that most in the Council would not realize that, given the size of Federation territory, it would typically be impractical to station a sentry by a disabled starship while it waited for a
Titanic to arrive) In order to save money, the original design incorporated the
Ambassador's warp nacelles, nav. deflector and deflector shield components.
The
Galaxy class project brought its own political battles, with the eventual conclusion that all
Ambassador class work was to be halted immediately in favor of the new starship class that Starfleet was percieved to be begging for in an effort to maintain parity with adversaries who were either absent (the Romulans, with whom contact had been lost for decades) or under-par (the Cardassians, who could not muster enough strength to directly threaten the Federation but made enough trouble for the outlying colony worlds and the overstretched Starfleet resources in that sector). Public relations with the anti-military political groups was at an all time low, and strapped for resources already, there was consideration given towards the future of the
Titanic, now that there would be no more
Ambassador-class spare parts built and available for use... and the class was almost due for a substantial refit, as the nacelles had not been redesigned for the altered warp geometry and the warp coils were not designed for reconfiguration, the added stress detracted from their lifespan.
Fortunately, the
Titanic found new life in the project which threatened it. After the Galaxy-class prototype and her technologies had proven moderately successful, the
Titanic and her three sister ships were brought in one by one and refitted with newer shield systems and new warp nacelles whose coils were aligned properly, ensuring greater lifespan.
But even with this new lease on life, the
Titanic class was still more often than not docked at a Starbase. After several years and a grand total of seven missions for the entire class, the onset of the Dominion War prompted considerations of scrapping the
Titanic-class ships and putting their massive tonnage towards new combat starships. Facing almost certain retirement, the class was given a reprieve when
Grand Coulee and
Golden Gate took part in a successful operation during the Dominion War which saved half a dozen smaller starships, an uprated
Galaxy-class starship, and the lives of several thousand Starfleet personnel. The
Titanic-class was further vindicated when
Golden Gate went on to facilitate the return of the crippled
Enterprise-E after the destruction of the
Scimitar. These events (which were very popular stories, spawning holodramas and interviews for weeks to come) ensured that the
Titanic class would not be scrapped just yet.
Given the lack of action they have seen throughout most of their service, it is likely the
Titanic-class will enjoy a long life, their spaceframes to be retired along with the
Galaxy-class spaceframes when they have reached the end of their lifespan. However due to their extreme size and vulnerability, it is unlikely Starfleet will ever build any more
Titanic class starships... most probably, Starfleet R&D will sooner turn towards refined warp-speed tractor-towing mechanisms and techniques if there is a need in the future for new Starship Transportation Systems.