Would returning to twin naval gun mounts improve defence against hypersonic missiles?
Short answerPotentially, because a faster volume of fire can matter when an engagement window becomes very short.
NotesThe post-Falklands gun debate shows why a higher volume of fire could help within a much shorter engagement window. Hypersonic speed matters because it compresses the time between detection, engagement, and a weapon reaching the ship. A twin mount can place roughly twice as many projectiles into that interval as a single barrel. Older twin mounts appear inefficient partly because development stopped while single mounts continued to improve. A modern design could recover the volume advantage with updated loading, control, and maintenance systems. Guns alone cannot solve hypersonic defence, but shorter engagement time increases the value of fire rate.