Vertical launch systems support defensive missile roles as well as land attack. A claim that VLS-equipped destroyers cannot conduct air defence or anti-submarine warfare rests on treating their launchers as exclusively for land-attack weapons. Air defence is identified as central to VLS development, with Aegis illustrating that connection. The launcher arrangement alone does not define a ship's mission as land attack.
Notable Point · 36:33-37:06
Vertical launch systems and defensive missile roles
A claim that vertical launch systems carry only land-attack missiles is challenged by their air-defence role.