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In James Dunnigan's book on Gulf War 1 he calculated the cost effectiveness of different munitions. For the most part the smart munitions were far better than the conventional ones. There were two exceptions. 16" BB rounds worked very well for whatever targets they could reach. B52 "carpet bombing" also worked very well and scared the cr*p out of the Iraqis for miles around. I suppose the latter's effectiveness would be less if the target was very well dug in. Few targets are well enough dug in to stop the former although range limits their usefulness. As it is they are probably the most accurate large artillery we ever made. With straightforward high tech upgrades (spotter drones, GPS or laser packages added to the shells to make them smart) they could be as accurate as anything the air force has. They did some work in the 60s with special rounds which extended their range, past 60 miles IIRC, albeit with smaller throw weight. Beyond that they can lob tomahawks and provide command and control platforms.

Interesting, if an Iowa class BB is cost effective then why retire it? Personally I always thou ht the best use of an Iowa class BB was in implementing the old Gun Boat diplomcy. Big and slow may not be what you want it the modern battlefield but it is still a very effective way of sending a message. Plus we you have control of the sea and sky an Iowa BB is one hell of a good artillery platform! Hope the navy knows what it is doing. Seems like all our surface eggs are invested in the very expensive CVAs (aircraft carriers).