Should the U.S. Navy Turn Merchant Ships into Floating Missile Magazines?

The U.S. Navy could buy older civilian merchant ships on the cheap and convert them into floating arsenals. The concept, outlined in the U.S. Naval Institute, envisions adding dozens—if not hundreds—of multiuse missile silos to the ships to provide additional firepower to the Navy while it struggles to reach its 355-ship goal. The idea is an attractive one but has a number of issues under the surface.

The heart of today’s U.S. Navy’s surface ship firepower, which lives on destroyers and cruisers, is the armored missile silo. The Arleigh Burke–class guided missile destroyers each carry 90-96 Mk. 41 vertical launch silos, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers carry 122 Mk. 41 silos, and the Zumwalt class carries 80 Mk. 57 silos. Each of these silos can carry one long-range anti-ballistic missile interceptor, surface-to-air missile, land attack cruise missile, anti-submarine rocket torpedo, or anti-ship missile each, or even up to four smaller short range air defense missiles. This versatility makes the fleet endlessly adaptable. A destroyer can carry all surface-to-air missiles, all anti-ship missiles, or a mix of all types.