Plywood gives a poor radar return. And there is no one in the pod to act as a backup when the target is a fuzzy blob on the screen, even if the targeting computer is working correctly, and an electrical connection hasn't been jarred loose by an RPG impact. Is there even such a thing as a visual target director, any more? Not for a Mach 4 incoming vampire, but a jihadi in a CrisCraft?
It would be sorta nice to have a FLIR system, hooked to a screen, and some gunner that can override the targeting to take out close in surface traffic. It might be worthy of a news story to watch a US Navy ship in harbor, and the CWIS pods are tracking passing pleasure craft... Just for practice...
After Pearl Harbor, it was apparent that the US Navy had blown off damage control as a vital training drill. With modern systems, does a captain unplug a vital component, and THEN have a Damage Control drill?
Well, when the navy and general dynamics were developing this system, a phalanx sucessfully hit a drone at approx 2500 feet from the test platform, then proceded to vary its aim until all the pieces decending were broken down into about 6 inch chunks. so imagine an airplane that was just hit the gun keeps firing until there are small chunks and a pilot hanging from a parachute. major pucker factor. and, yes there are manual target designaters.