> Some US Navy ships have anti-ICBM capability, but that's only useful if a ship happens to be in the right position at the right time. Interesting anecdote on

> Some US Navy ships have anti-ICBM capability, but that's only useful if a ship happens to be in the right position at the right time. Interesting anecdote on this topic: One of these shipborne anti-ICBM systems is called the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System. By all accounts it seems successful enough of a system, but as Animats mentions above there is the problem that it is only useful if the ships are in the right place. And if you never move your ships, why would you want to pay all the extra costs associated with their maintenance? So people come up with the concept of installing the same system on shore based installations. They called it the Aegis Ashore system. If you squint at it it kinda looks like as if the rough outline of a ship's superstructure is sunk into the concrete: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defense_System#/media/File:Mda_aegis.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegis_Ballistic_Missile_Defens... So now we have Aegis, and Aegis Ashore. Here comes the twist. Japan wanted to install the Aegis Ashore system, but for various reasons they couldn't find the right place on land to put it. So they come up with the idea of installing it on barges. And if they do we will have Aegis Ashore-Afloat. :) (Though I'm reading just now that it seems they have canceled these plans. Pity.)