A successful at-sea reload demonstration does not establish a capability that ships can use routinely on deployment. VLS replenishment had precedents in the 1980s, while the recent cruiser test left questions about how widely the equipment could be used. VLS offered a higher launch rate than twin-arm launchers when ships needed to engage massed bomber and missile attacks. Repeated drone and other smaller attacks create a different replenishment problem. Supply ships have limited space for bulky missile canisters, and their magazines and elevators were not designed around handling large numbers of them. Returning empty canisters and bringing loaded replacements aboard also makes the transfer slow. Older arm launchers offered a different tradeoff because crews could replenish their magazines without exchanging individual launch canisters.
Notable Point · 1:28:22-1:30:51
A demonstrated VLS reload is not yet a sustained capability
Reloading vertical-launch missiles at sea remains slow and constrained by the small number of equipped ships, magazine space, and handling arrangements.