Beyond projectile cost, why can naval guns be better than missiles for fire support?
Short answerGuns can deliver a large volume of directed fire quickly, and the enemy has greater difficulty stopping repeated ballistic projectiles.
NotesCost 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.