Why heavy naval guns appealed for defending northern Norway

Why consider building a new battleship in the late Cold War?

Heavy naval guns offered a way to support forces in northern Norway while leaving carriers available for operations against Soviet naval bastions.

A late-Cold War case for heavy naval gunfire centred on stopping massed Soviet ground forces in northern Norway. Modern shells and extended range were expected to improve what a 16-inch battery could deliver. The hope was that one heavy-gun ship could provide enough support to blunt an advance. That would leave carriers available to push towards Soviet naval bastions. A carrier's ability to conduct the bombardment did not remove the need to decide which other mission it would have to give up.