Posted on 10/22/2018 3:47:27 PM PDT by BenLurkin
I’m serious (from my armchair!).
Air power is what killed the Battleship and drones can remove that threat.
Well, drones need some improvement- but not much.
If I were single, I might ask her out on a date. Not many heterosexual men can say they dated a captain of a ship.
She doesn’t have time. In charge of a million dollar ship she’d better be on top of things. Not what YOU think. The Taiwan straight is 120 miles wide. Lots of room there.
But only if the target is within 24 miles away.
With drone air cover the battleship can get within 24 miles.
And fire $1,000 rounds while the enemy is firing $100,000 missiles.
...From my armchair.
As a kid, my Father was telling about the Kamikaze and I said something like “Well, they weren’t going for your Escort- they were going for the big ships.”
...Never forget the look he gave me!
But a missile has a much better % chance of hitting what it is shot at. At Surigao Straits, West Virginia fire 93 16 inch 45 caliber AP rounds at Yamishiro, hit her 9 times. Less than 10% hits. A modern anti-ship missile has a better than 90% chance of hitting its target.
“But a missile has a much better % chance of hitting what it is shot at.”
... or a $1000 drone, carrying the equivalent of a Claymore, that’s in the way.
Yeah, I’n thinking dozens or even hundreds of drones protecting the ship. Tethered drones could reach out a hundred yards for a last-dirch defense, Others would be out even further for a layered defense.
Thinking of the possibilities from my armchsair... but it seems obvious old assumptions cn’t be trusted. Heck that is a constant theme in warfare.
10% hits for battleship guns was actually a bit high when you look at the hit-rates through the entire era of the dreadnought. BUT a heavy AP artillery round has a much better chance of killing an armored battleship than a wimpy cruise missile strike. While they would cause damage they’d have almost no chance of sinking a modern battleship. Mission-kill, yes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.