Q&A ยท 3:57:15-3:57:33

Why guns remain valuable for naval fire support

Naval artillery offers volume, responsiveness, and repeated projectiles that are difficult to intercept.

Question

Beyond projectile cost, why can naval guns be better than missiles for fire support?

Short answer

Guns can deliver a large volume of directed fire quickly, and the enemy has greater difficulty stopping repeated ballistic projectiles.

Notes

Cost is a major advantage of gunfire over missiles. Guns can also place a large amount of fire on a target in a short period. That volume can be redirected rapidly as troops ashore request support. Individual shells are difficult for an enemy to stop, giving conventional artillery a different saturation value from a smaller missile inventory.