Speaking of which, I did some fumbling around with the presently-fielded 650-mm VLS cells (for FFGs) and the 850-mm VLS cells (for DDGs), alongside the purported/claimed 950-mm VLS cells (said to succeed the 850-mm VLS cells) and 1200-mm VLS cells (said to be the LVLS cells) in order to find out the theoretical maximum sizes of the respective VLS cells for comparison.
Here are the results.
Firstly, calculating the cross-sectional area of the respective VLS cells:
VLS Cell Size | Calculations | VLS Cell Cross-Sectional Area | Percentage Jump From Preceding VLS Cell Size |
650-mm | 0.65 m x 0.65 m | 0.4225 m^2 | - |
850-mm | 0.85 m x 0.85 m | 0.7225 m^2 | ~71.01 % |
950-mm | 0.95 m x 0.95 m | 0.9025 m^2 | ~24.91 % |
1200-mm | 1.20 m x 1.20 m | 1.4400 m^2 | ~59.56 % |
Next, by setting the 850-mm VLS cell depth at its maximum of 9 meters (strike version) and scale the other VLS cell depths accordingly:
VLS Cell Size | VLS Cell Depth (Rounded-off) |
650-mm | 7 meters (set) |
850-mm | 9 meters (control) |
950-mm | 10 meters |
1200-mm | 13 meters |
Lastly, by including the depth of the VLS cells for the calculation of the respective VLS cell volumes:
VLS Cell Size | Calculations | VLS Cell Volume | Percentage Jump From Preceding VLS Size |
650-mm | 0.65 m x 0.65 m x 7 m | 2.9575 m^3 | - |
850-mm | 0.85 m x 0.85 m x 9 m | 6.5025 m^3 | ~119.86 % |
950-mm | 0.95 m x 0.95 m x 10 m | 9.0250 m^3 | ~38.79 % |
1200-mm | 1.20 m x 1.20 m x 13 m | 18.7200 m^3 | ~107.42 % |
As can be seen, while the jump from 650-mm VLS cell to 850-mm VLS cell is bigger than the jump from 950-mm VLS cell to 1200-mm VLS cell, yet the differences are actually pretty marginal, all things considered. Besides, the capability upgrades from the 650-850 to 950-1200 certainly cannot be understated either (i.e. enable the multipacking (2x or 4x) of larger-diameter missiles for the 950-mm VLS cells, while offering significant upgrade in surface strike capabilities for the 1200-mm VLS cells).