I believe that the cargo handling modules only help the troop bays, not the drop bays.
Although speaking off odd-duck... I got tired of wasting shipyards producing endless tiny survey ships that take forever to get the job done, and so designed a pair of 500 ton survey fighters, each with a single sensor on it, and this carrier (based off an escort carrier I already had designed) to lead a task force strong enough to at least fight its way out of a bad situation. I've been breaking up my original run of Missile Destroyers, Generalist Destroyers, and Escort Carriers to provide them with a basic escort. They actually seem to get systems surveyed quicker, and have the advantage of being usable as fighter transports to ferry garrisons about.
Carrack class Survey Command Ship 10,000 tons 173 Crew 1143.6 BP TCS 200 TH 300 EM 0
2000 km/s JR 4-100 Armour 4-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 10 PPV 0
Maint Life 4.5 Years MSP 715 AFR 80% IFR 1.1% 1YR 57 5YR 858 Max Repair 107 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Flight Crew Berths 21
Hangar Deck Capacity 2000 tons
General Electric M200 Mod 1 Slipstream Drive Max Ship Size 10000 tons Distance 100k km Squadron Size 4
General Electric CV2000 Magnetoplasma Drive (2) Power 200 Fuel Use 7.96% Signature 150 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 2,000,000 Litres Range 452.3 billion km (2617 days at full power)
TN/SPS-01 Area Search Sensor (1) GPS 8400 Range 117.6m km Resolution 100
Strike Group
2x C-4 Prospector Survey Craft Speed: 2400 km/s Size: 10
2x C-5 Astronaut Survey Craft Speed: 2400 km/s Size: 10
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes