Q&A · 3:46:47-3:47:48

What modern electronics could add to a 15-inch shell

Modern fuzing and guidance could make a 15-inch shell more accurate, extend its useful range, and restore heavy naval gunfire as a precision support option.

Question

What could modern electronics add to a 15-inch shell?

Short answer

Guidance and modern fuzing could improve accuracy, range, and naval-gunfire-support value if the electronics could survive launch forces.

Notes

A 15-inch shell has ample internal volume for modern electronics, provided those components are placed and ruggedized to survive firing shock. The panel notes that older shells already carried sophisticated fuzing and explosive arrangements for their era. New guidance could improve accuracy and may extend effective range without changing the gun itself. The result would give a ship such as Warspite a much more capable naval-gunfire-support weapon rather than merely a larger unguided projectile.