rickc rickc:
I thought that gunships (not as large as battleships of course) were supposed to be making a comeback due to the magnetic rail gun. They do not need to carry gun powder bags, and the projectiles do not have a warhead. No more need to worry about the fatal shot to the magazine. Smaller faster ships are harder to hit and you do not sacrifice as much when the ship does go down.
Problem is, I think, cost. Those shiny Zumwalt's that were to replace the Arleigh Burke destroyer cost ~4.5 billion a unit. The Arleigh Burke (Gen 3) costs ~1.8bn to build.