I like a lot of what you had to say - what we are going to get, though, isn't going to be that grandiose.
Not because Frontier can't deliver, but because they won't - and shouldn't. Some of the things are just too much, such as the incredible costs you outline for various things, and a number of the capabilities that you would like to see, and some of the things have logistics tied to them that sound really difficult to manage.
I actually don't think that the Carriers should have any combat capability, nor should they be attackable. Some situation where the Squadron isn't able to push back an NPC attack that is part of a mission (choose from a multitude of reasons), and now their Carrier is wrecked. No one is going to like the taste of that, and even the most hard-core Save Resetters would probably not be on board as well. Too much time investment from too many people, and that is something that needs to be respected, in my opinion.
I really think that these things are just going to be a mobile base for the squadron - Repair, Rearming, Outfitting (from what you have deposited there), and hopefully Cartographics capability as well. I think they will just sit at the entry star, hopefully scooping fuel that you can then Refuel your ships from, until you dock, and tell it to go somewhere else. If you had one of these on an Exploration mission (a place to save your Cartographics Data and a Save Point), that would greatly open up the options for what kind of dangers that Frontier could place out in the black. Sign me up, please.
Any kind of large upkeep costs will also effectively lock out any solo players from ever having one of these, and I think that is something that Frontier should very carefully consider before deciding. I am hoping that you don't actually need to lead or be part of a Squadron to buy them, even if that means saving up a lot of credits over a long period of time.
Overall though, I did like your presentation, and the thought that went into it. +1
Riôt