A carrier, arsenal ship, and unmanned escort flotilla

Should an arsenal ship serve as the close-defence vessel for a carrier?

Its better role is the strike arm of a distributed group supported by a control ship, unmanned surface escorts, and a few manned close escorts.

An arsenal ship's large missile battery is better used as a flotilla's offensive punch than as the carrier's main close-defence system. The proposed group contains a carrier, the arsenal ship, and an adapted amphibious hull that controls unmanned surface vessels. Numerous unmanned craft could provide much of the outer escort, while a smaller number of manned ships remain close for tasks that still require crews and judgement. A later exchange makes the defensive system explicit: electronic countermeasures, close-in weapons, short- and long-range missiles, carrier aircraft, and attacks on enemy launchers must work together. Magazine depth matters, but it does not replace a layered force design.