It seems to me that a lot of the ships in this game have been in service for decades and some even centuries. The UEE's "state of the art" carrier based fighter is over two hundred years old already! I know ships have been replaced for being old like the Gladius and Avenger, but damn it's not like "modern" space craft are new either.

What purpose does this serve in the lore? I can understand a few work horses being around for ages, but overall most ships should not be even close to a hundred years old.

Has technology just stopped progressing in the SC universe? The Gladius is four hundred years old and it's still being used today, to some extent. To put that into context, that's would be the same as modern soldier learning how to fire a matchlock (not even flintlock) musket.

It's cool how there are so many ships with incredible legacies and stories behind them, but would a civilization really value nostalgia over technology?