Additional hulls are needed to compete with near-peer adversaries, and converting merchant ships into VLS missile-cell carriers could provide an economical complement—although not a complete alternative—to new construction.
Options include International Maritime Organization–compliant double-hull tankers and container ships. Given their size, either type probably could accommodate tactical ballistic missiles in addition to ship-launched cruise missiles. Container ship conversion into a “missile merchant” would be easier and probably less costly if VLS modules were housed in special ConEx Boxes or stacked in container cells. ...
By leveraging existing combat systems and “kill webs,” missile merchants would act as on-demand remote magazines—not unlike the arsenal ship concept (more on that below). Advances in high-performance computing, software virtualization, and composite materials enable proven, existing systems such as cruise missiles to fit into International Organization for Standardization–compliant ConEx shipping containers. This modular form-factor allows for rapid and low-cost outfitting of container ships and plug-and-play compatibility with existing Navy and Joint combat systems.
One, I'm fully on board the need for Navy hulls.
And on the specific "missile merchants" proposal, back in 2007, Proceedings declined to publish my proposal for modularized auxiliary cruisers--which I put on my blog here--after sitting on the submission for close to a year. I included the container ship and shipping container angle plus the "kill web" concept (but with older terminology).
Eventually I retooled the idea for the Army as a power projection platform--while noting it had obvious potential for the Navy--which Military Review published in 2016.
But hey, it's a good idea. Even if I didn't make a footnote.
