“As CIWS go, that’s actually a relatively slow rate of fire. The 50 cal, while a great round, doesn’t go as far or hit as hard as a 20mm or 30mm as is common in other CIWS. That’s been the big criticism of CIWS - by the time it actually hits an inbound (particularly a supersonic inbound) the ship is still going to take a hit from high velocity flaming debris. With all the relatively delicate sensors, radars, and comm gear topside, even a shotgun hit like that could be a mission kill. I’d bet the Iranian system suffers from these shortcomings even more - to a higher degree.”
I have heard from people on Navy ships that the word is that if you hear one of these things firing unexpectedly, you better get your life jacket - for the reason you mention. It’s a “last resort” defense, designed to minimize damage, not prevent it.
We could take them out in 10 minutes.