had a huge fleet vs fleet battle in a sector where the AI(hard) had a planet. the battle went on a very long time and i took over his planet while it was happening. the AI was very quick to destroy any tactical cannons I built so i figured why not try some factories? the battle was still raging on and the way things were going i was likely to lose...

i was surprised the AI didn't care as i was constructing 3 frigate factories and a capital ship factory. which i was able to use to replace all the capital ships that were lost and crank out 3 new cruisers at a time, right into the heat of battle.

this turned the fight and after a bit the AI decided to turn tail and run.