The Arsenal Ship Floating Missile Platform Overview, GIANT MISSILE BATTLESHIPS

An arsenal ship is a concept for a floating missile platform intended to have as many as five hundred vertical launch bays for midsized missiles, most likely cruise missiles. In current U. S. naval thinking, such a ship would initially be controlled remotely by an Aegis Cruiser, although plans include control by AEW C aircraft such as the E2 Hawkeye and E3 Sentry. Originally proposed by VADM Joseph Metcalf, DCNO Surface Warfare, as a component of the Surface Combatants of the 21st Century initiative in the mid1980 s. Later, proposed by the U. S. Navy in 1996, the arsenal ship had funding problems, with the United States Congress canceling some funding, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) providing some funding to individual contractors for prototypes. Some concept artwork of the Arsenal Ship was produced, with some images bearing the number 72, possibly hinting at an intent to classify the arsenal ships as a battleship, since the last battleship o