If the Zoners are in need of a defensive force and somehow they can't convince Order/Core/whoever to do it, there already are possibilities to counter that. You do not need a battleship against a battleship, even in vanilla lore. 80-year-war and lots of occasions in the campaign can prove that.
Put a SNAC on an Osprey and you have your bomber. If that doesn't fit your needs, there is plenty in the civilian and borderworld shiplines to choose from.
Furthermore, the nephilim in itself is not exactly lost. It is just going to become harder to acquire, meaning you have to put effort into getting one and maintaining ownership of one. The loss of the Aquilon, however, is a different thing. It can possibly be organised to keep that model in, too and make it available via SRP too.
I'm sure if the RP of many nephilim-owners in this thread is only half as good, significant and of utter importance as they describe it to be, reacquiring it through SRP should become rather easy.
Remember that not all caps are lost though. It only affects the battleship-sized ships, which would make the Zoner a potential threat in the eyes of its neighbours and would quickly lead to delivering a first strike against the Zoners and possibly eradicating of them in a certain region.
I am quite okay with the recent change though I find that some financial compensation is due for some who get their battleships/carriers changed into transports. 50% of the original buyprice, or something along those lines.
