Missile capacity follows a warship's mission

What is a healthy missile load for warships of different tonnage?

No universal ratio exists; missile capacity must follow role, endurance, sensors, support requirements, and where the ship is expected to operate.

Missile capacity depends on what a warship must do and how far it operates from support. Japan's proposed coastal Aegis platforms can devote much of their capacity to missiles because they are intended to remain near their own ports. A Type 45 must also accommodate its crew and carry the maintenance facilities and supporting infrastructure needed to operate across the world from Britain. Its armament can still be criticized as too small, but a raw comparison with a coastal missile platform exaggerates the similarity between their requirements. A hypothetical 4,000-ton Arctic vessel would devote much of its displacement to stores, repair facilities, and icebreaking ability, with only a modest gun and missile outfit. A general-purpose frigate of the same displacement could carry a different combination of antiship missiles, air-defense launchers, and close-in weapons. Tonnage alone therefore supplies no fixed rule for an appropriate missile count.