Could electromagnetic-pulse weapons disable a warship?
Short answerThey can disable unhardened systems, but shielding, hardened electronics and resettable protection can limit the damage on a warship.
NotesAn electromagnetic pulse can disable unhardened equipment, but military systems have long been designed with that risk in mind. Surge protection and breakers can allow some equipment to be reset after a disturbance. The metal hull already provides a degree of Faraday-cage shielding, which further protective measures can improve. Hardened components and extensively modified, tested computer systems help explain costs above civilian equivalents. Long-range communications relying on atmospheric propagation can fail even when local line-of-sight communication survives, provided its transceivers remain operational or can be reset.