Not really. If I assumed logic applied to SR novels, that'd make me angry.

The problem the Brisish had during the Falklands was lack of an airborne radar platform and the lack of a (credible) area defense system. The type 42 (Sheffield) AA destroyers they had were pretty much inadequate for the task. They were modified after the war to be better, but still don't come close to the AEGIS system that the US and Japan have.

Can you expand on that for the non [military] intelligent?

Without an airborne radar platform, you are limited by the horizon of the earth. This means that you will not be able to detect low flying targets further that ~20 miles away (depends on stuff). So a low flying airplane with 20+ mile range missiles basically has a free ride to shoot at you. An airborne rader raises your radar horizon, which means that you can detect low flying targets (or ships) much farther away. This also lets the ships not use their radars, since the airborne platform handles that. Thus the E-2s that American Carriers fly are probably the most important planes on the deck.

Next, missile defense is a very processor intensive process, you need to decide if you have been shot at, by what, how many missiles, what to fire at them, did you hit them, should you ifre again?... all in what little flight time the missile allows you.

The type 42 crusisers that the British fielded were (iirc) mainly created to shoot down planes, not missles. So they had real trouble shooting down the (modest) preforming Exocet missle.

So, no early warning radar, insuficient processing power, both for the missle interception plots and for the radar itself, and then so-so intercept missiles. Would have worked fine against planes trying to bomb the fleet, not so well against planes shooting standoff missiles.

Interesting. Translating to SR, could one use a small blimp loaded with sensors and maybe cabled to the ship (say something small like a trawler) or just using RCD to perform the same function? What's the ceiling on blimps, and how does that translate into horizon distance?

Horizon calculator This changes a bit depending on what wavelength of radar you are using, but not by much,

So seriously, as a water-based runner platform what would work best?

Unless you have some way of avoiding the crew restrictions anything with a hull is out. That sort of limits things to a Yacht, as a Speedboat is too danged slow.

Or what about a motorhome with amphibious operations? It's just insane enough to actually work.

Actually if the rules in R3 weren't so idiotic at times a Zeppelin would be great. Truth's tale they hold way more than 150CF (The hindenburg had a dance hall, hotel, smoking room with grand piano, 5-star kitchen, etc.) With body 8 a Zeppelin could mount a lot of weapons 'o protecting itself. Assuming you could actually bypass the 150CF just put on a dozen living accomodations, amp up the sig, and there you go. Drone launchers for an aerial attack? Check. Enough weapons to bring Seattle to it's knees? Check.

Depends on where, and what you want to do with it. Sail around the bahamas/florida doing stuff? A 40-80 foor ship will bo fine.

Will the ship be expected to engage in combat, or just act as a floating 'home'. What kind of range and seaworthyness are you looking for? How many people wil have to live on it?

For a less serious game, SR meets Crimson Skies might be kinda neat...

An alchera island for you to dock at, maybe the alchera can be controlled/influenced by a free spirit which has its personal domain there. Maybe Atlantis could be an alchera.

Hmm, you could have te 'unknown island' by making a powerified free spirit live there and use some variant of the conceal power to fool all those pesky satelites... Your runners can have the Isle of Avalon as a home port, heh.