Precision missile defenses cannot supply the volume of fire needed when aircraft or missiles are already close. Removing 4.5-inch guns from some Leander-class frigates and building gunless Type 22s reduced shore support, warning-shot options, and the last defensive layers. The same caution applies to DragonFire and other laser weapons: even an effective kill system does not replace a gun's visible warning shot, suppressive volume, or psychological effect. The Italian Navy's heavily armed ships reflect Mediterranean expectations that short distances and little warning demand more force at the point of contact. In San Carlos, commanders wanted weapons capable of saturating likely approach corridors, not merely another highly precise single shot. Postwar officials nevertheless sometimes dismissed extra guns as useful in the Falklands but unnecessary for the NATO mission, delaying wider application of the lesson until designs such as Type 31.
Chapter · 50:13-1:08:23
Why naval guns complete the defensive layers
The Falklands demonstrated that missiles alone do not replace guns for close defense, warning shots, shore support, and suppression of predictable attack routes.