gambit
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The USN floated the concept of an 'arsenal ship' for a while.Battleships or gun cruisers? Both armed with railguns can be very effective, though battleships would be more heavily armed, and nuclear power is an obvious requirement for such a system due to its power requirements. While I don't see much need now for a return of the Iowa's, building a new class of either type of ship could be a cost-effective augment or replacement to the expensive missile cruisers currently in service. Unfortunately destroyers seem to be the surface combatant the Navy is looking at as its future.
Arsenal ship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
WW II was the first time fleets fought each other without being line of sight of each other via the aircraft carrier. With 11 carriers, it is unlikely for the next 75 or even 100 yrs that anyone can challenge the USN fleet to fleet. That leave ship to shore as the most likely scenarios for the USN in future combat.
Against troop emplacements, nothing beats simple 'dumb' artillery shells in terms of terrifying enemy troops while being economical. Desert Storm proved that, as if the ship's cannon needed to prove itself anyway. If the USAF can go to smart bombs like the Small Diameter Bombs (SDB) concept, the USN battleship or arsenal ship can still terrify enemy troops with smaller guns with smarter shells. Rail guns and much smarter weapons like cruise missiles are reserved for large scale destruction of facilities such as bases or other ships. Nuclear power would be a req, of course. The intention of this new battleship would not changed from WW I, which is to deliver continuous streams of destruction onto an area, but with newer technologies, this new battleship would be able to do that more efficiently and precisely.