Mark 41 options and the SAMPSON advantage

The forward missile housing contains six eight-cell Sylver modules, giving 48 cells despite its substantial size. Reserved spaces ahead of and behind that bay produced different estimates for additional strike-length Mark 41 launchers, including sixteen or twenty-four cells and larger theoretical possibilities. SAMPSON, S1850M, and the BAE command system could theoretically have provided enough data for SM-3, although that would have required further coding and development. Mark 41 would also have opened a route to Tomahawk land attack. A preferred twenty-four-cell example divided the load into sixteen Tomahawks and eight SM-3s, while a sixteen-cell alternative allocated twelve and four respectively. These were considered options, with a preference for carrying more missiles. The government selected the second-smallest of five design options, leaving less room to fit additional equipment easily.