The antiship missile attack that sank the Russian Navy’s Slava-class cruiser Moskva reveals that missiles with more precision, longer range, and smaller warheads cause far more damage than most models estimated.
Arming the new Marine Littoral Regiment (MLR) with offensive ground-based antiship missiles (GBASMs) but no defensive surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) is as bold as it is risky. The Marine Corps has not been so ill-equipped to face high-end naval and air forces since the first year of World War II. Retired Navy Captain Wayne P. Hughes Jr.’s missile “Salvo Model” suggests the Marine Corps needs a high-to-medium air-defense (HIMAD) system to conduct littoral operations in a contested environment and expeditionary advanced base operations.
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