Sea Wolf, Phalanx and the limits of short-range defence

The later Cold War arrangement retains fighters beyond the area-defence missile layer, with Tomcats placed roughly 300 km beyond that layer's reach. RIM-67 is described as reaching about 80 km at this stage, with later development extending its range. Sea Wolf supplies a shorter layer, with a stated range band of roughly 1 to 10 km. That limited reach challenges the claim that a Falklands fleet should have relied entirely on Sea Wolf-equipped ships. Phalanx provides a final gun layer with a quoted effective range of 1,486 metres, against a maximum firing range of 5,500 metres. Those figures distinguish the distance at which the gun can fire from its shorter effective engagement range. Strong local defence leaves a continuing need to intercept farther from the force.