Modern combatants struggle to reload vertical-launch cells at sea because their hulls lack protected handling volume. The proposed battleship can carry an internal stock of replacement canisters and machinery that removes empty or damaged cells and inserts loaded ones. Unsafe damaged canisters could be discarded overboard, while reusable empty ones return to protected storage. The approach requires the depth and handling space that small escorts cannot spare. That turns sheer size into endurance: the ship can combine hundreds of long-range missiles with redundant five-inch, 57 mm, or 76 mm secondary guns and close-in systems while replenishing a major part of its battery during operations.
Chapter · 2:01:14-2:06:58
A large hull can solve vertical-launch reloading at sea
Hundreds of VLS cells, an armored internal magazine, and automated handling could let a 40,000-60,000-ton ship reload missiles without returning to port.