Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:50:41-1:51:25

When a navy might need an arsenal ship

An arsenal ship becomes attractive when defensive missiles crowd strike weapons out of ordinary escorts, but the answer depends on fleet scale and mission.

Air DefenceArsenal ShipsCruise MissilesFleet Design
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Question

Does a modern navy need an arsenal ship carrying many more cruise missiles?

Short answer

Possibly, if defensive weapons consume the launch cells on ordinary combatants, but the requirement is much stronger for a large US fleet than for the Royal Navy.

Notes

An arsenal ship is a conditional solution rather than a universally necessary class. If escorts must devote more of their launch cells to air-defense missiles, a separate hull could carry the fleet's opening load of land-attack weapons. That division preserves strike volume without weakening the defenses of ships expected to survive close to the threat. Whether it is worthwhile depends on the navy: the US fleet may find a use for such capacity where the smaller Royal Navy might not.