SM-3, SM-6 and ballistic missile defence
Dedicated ballistic-missile defence differs from a secondary interception capability in an air-defence weapon.
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Complete directory
Browse all time notes.
Explore every watch point in reverse video-date order, then in timestamp order within each video.
Why frigate prices rise with their combat systems
Hull-price comparisons change once both ships carry the equipment needed for the same mission.
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Could Britain cooperate with India on amphibious ships?
A larger Indian LPD could suit British requirements, though a preference for European partnerships could obstruct cooperation.
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India's reasons for large amphibious ships
Island support, strategic lift and flanking operations explain the proposed ships' role.
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Why carriers make more sense for France than Germany
Overseas territory and different NATO responsibilities create different carrier requirements.
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The Type 23 idea with 32 extra Sea Wolf missiles
An extra 32 Sea Wolf missiles could have set a higher magazine-capacity expectation for later frigates and destroyers.
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Conflicting aims in US foreign-frigate procurement
An off-the-shelf purchase can mean different things to the administration, Navy and Congress.
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Why Germany was a likely Cold War battlefield
Germany's plains and position between opposing forces made geography central to planning.
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Why an isolated quotation can misrepresent someone's views
Selective quotations can conceal changing views and simultaneous contradictions.
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If Cumberland had joined the Battle of the River Plate
Cumberland's additional strength would doom Graf Spee, while leaving the British cruisers exposed to severe damage.
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A Flight 4 Burke with room for a larger ship
A substantially larger Burke could gain needed capacity while retaining a familiar procurement name.
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Astute sea trials and the dry-dock bottleneck
A sea-trial estimate of a few months sits alongside a wider shortage of working dry docks caused by delayed maintenance.
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Dry docks, slipways and basins
Draining a dry dock gives maintenance workers access to the underwater hull, while a slipway supports ship construction.
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Air-to-air missiles on helicopters
Helicopter missile carriage still requires suitable sensors and guidance support.
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Why an Astute submarine took 13 years to build
Changes during construction and differences between Astute batches account for the lengthy build in this explanation.
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Type 23 hull options and cuts to the building programme
The chosen Type 23 was already among the larger proposals; later savings reduced the production run.
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If Queen Elizabeth's crew had spotted the frogmen
Spotting the divers could have allowed a grenade attack before they placed explosives, preserving battleships for Somerville.
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Crewed warships as cruisers and uncrewed escorts
Uncrewed craft could take smaller escort duties while crewed ships assume cruiser roles and retain their own fighting capability.
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How a larger Type 45 order changes average cost
The Type 45 example separates development expenditure from the cost of additional ships.
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How more ships ease readiness and retention pressures
A larger fleet can reduce emergency surges and deferred refits while giving experienced personnel more career opportunities.
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Which modern Western warships still have armour?
Battleship-scale armour is distinguished from protection around critical spaces in modern ships.
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A possible 2030s return for Type 83
A possible Type 83 revival in the 2030s depends on the wider British shipbuilding schedule.
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Dreadnought construction and what laying down means
Substantial module construction can precede a submarine's official laying-down date.
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Yamato battleships at Trafalgar
Yamatos with Cold War refits would overwhelm the opposition in this Trafalgar counterfactual.
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Warspite's reputation and a ballistic-missile namesake
A humorous naming objection draws on stories of earlier Warspites behaving unpredictably.
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French battleship designs with quadruple turrets
Normandie and Lyon are the tentative candidates for the remembered French four-gun-turret design.
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F-35 parts, China and commercial shipping routes
Commercial shipping can expose military parts to unintended ports when a booking overlooks the vessel's route.
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Why dispense with an armoured conning tower?
Limited protection against heavy shells is weighed against armour weight that could serve elsewhere.
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Nuclear weapons and individual control in Azur Lane
Modern armament for fictional ship characters raises the problem of individual nuclear authority.
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Dutch and Belgian ASWF requirements
Different missile requirements shape a cautious assessment of the joint frigate programme.
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Conventional deterrence and objections to nuclear use
A personal objection to nuclear use combines concern about damage with the neglect of conventional deterrence.
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Britain's soft power and the credibility of its promises
Financial and diplomatic connections support influence, while weaker military backing can undermine commitments.
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An unrestricted British fast battleship and the gun-size race
A fast battleship counterfactual tests German affordability and American pressure for larger guns.
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Continuous shipbuilding and Germany's loss of design experience
A sustained construction programme could accumulate design experience while Germany lost it.
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Why Yamato's design logic depends on the treaty-era fleet
Yamato's value against older battleships depends on the fleet that treaty limits preserved.
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How many ship-design options did the Royal Navy consider?
A rough design-selection generalisation comes with explicit exceptions.
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The larger destroyer alternative to the Fletcher
The US Navy nearly chose a slightly larger destroyer for the mass-production role that went to Fletcher.
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Why secondhand Burkes would be a poor Royal Navy fit
Wear, crew size and early-flight helicopter limitations weigh against buying old Burkes.
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A Polish Defiant order and American yard capacity
The proposed export depends on capacity beyond America's own shipbuilding needs.
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Drone sensors and the pressure for longer-range torpedoes
More extensive sensing could force submarines to attack from farther away.
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Fast weapons, Doppler detection and early warning
High speed can provide a detectable characteristic, with early warning distinguished from a targeting solution.
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Radar cross-section versus a warship's missile capacity
Reduced signature can compete with the weapons an escort needs for a sustained fight.
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Carrying a torpedo closer to its target
Staged delivery has precedents, with payload weight and release conditions limiting its value.
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Type 83 size and specialist warfare command
A large successor is forecast alongside specialist ships able to organise air and submarine warfare.
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Missile submunitions and the target's freedom to manoeuvre
Target altitude and freedom to manoeuvre influence the choice of warhead arrangement.
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Why capable uncrewed aircraft are expensive
Single-purpose short-range aircraft and sophisticated long-range aircraft occupy different cost brackets.
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Deployable rafts as radar decoys
Radar repeaters let small deployable decoys present a larger apparent target.
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Mechanical and manual torpedo reloads in battle
Mechanical reload equipment could restore torpedoes in minutes, while British manual arrangements took longer.
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