Hospital-ship protection versus defensive armament

Can hospital ships carry defensive weapons against modern threats?

Only extremely limited arms are compatible with hospital-ship status; a navy wanting real defenses may prefer a casualty-receiving ship and accept the loss of protected status.

Hospital ships receive special protection because they are not treated as warships, but that status sharply limits the weapons they may carry and requires them to disclose their position. A casualty-receiving ship remains a warship, can carry defensive weapons, and need not broadcast its location, although it consequently lacks hospital-ship immunity. Modern long-range threats can make that tradeoff increasingly important.