In a "protracted war", ships will be better known as "high value targets" --- just waiting for a cheap (relative to the cost of the ship) missile, drone or bomb

In a "protracted war", ships will be better known as "high value targets" --- just waiting for a cheap (relative to the cost of the ship) missile, drone or bomb to take them out. Sinking an expensive ship is not a technological problem, it is a political one. In any sort of "protracted war", political restraints would presumably be removed. In which case, a bigger problem will become apparent --- how to make such a war "protracted". Any such attempt would likely be over in a matter of days.