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I am absolutely certain that the big pointy thing on the foredeck is cheaper than a helicopter flight.



That big pointy thing probably can't be depressed to a low enough angle to hit a raft until it's a few hundred yards away. Naval designers don't think in terms of a frigate needing to defend itself in close combat with an armed rowboat.

The idiots on the raft *can* do some damage by firing the AK-47s into the bridge or an RPG into the antennae or such: the captain can't just ignore them. On the other hand their chances of getting away are about zero even without the helicopter.
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"If they can't picture me with a knife, forcing them to strip in an alley, I don't want any part of it. It's humiliating." - windsock