Mixed weapons multiply a fleet's defensive problem

Diversity complicates offensive threats as well as fleet defence. Standardization on Harpoon, followed by the introduction of Naval Strike Missile, is contrasted with carrying more than one anti-ship missile type. Buying Harpoon and Exocet could serve relationships with American and European suppliers while also forcing an opponent to prepare for different attack profiles. An opponent equipped to handle one missile still had to account for the other arriving alongside it. Modern raids can combine drones, cruise missiles, and hypersonic missiles, requiring defenders to handle several threats at the same time. Treating drones as an isolated mass misses the more complicated attack they can help form.