I'm not really excited about the idea as we already have hangars and carriers that churn out large numbers of strikecraft.  I want my starbases to be floating fortresses that can fire large weapons and take lots of punishment.

The positions discussed in other threads about letting them move, extending their range, etc. have their merits and I'd prefer to see more work heading us down that road.

What about something similar to a hanger...except spawns ships instead? Possibly something along the lines of 1 cruiser and 4 frigates of your choice (at 1st level)? They auto-rebuild for free like normal strikecraft, and are limited to the grav well the starbase is in. Upgrades can get more ships, and you get to decide what ships you get.