The suggested Arleigh Burke modification would replace one Phalanx mount with C-RAM and the other with an OTO 76, or reverse those positions. The concern is that Phalanx is designed for leakers, while a destroyer operating alone might receive the full weight of a sudden attack. Presence missions can put a single ship in the path of grey-zone escalation before it has time to join a task group. That ship therefore needs enough immediate defensive firepower to survive and break contact. Once ships combine, fleet strength comes from their aggregated and complementary capabilities rather than from any one hull.
Notable Point · 32:35-34:12
Solo warships need more than a leaker-only CIWS
An Arleigh Burke counterfactual frames why a ship on an isolated presence mission may need enough layered firepower to survive a surprise saturation attack and rejoin its fleet.