The Magellan-class was primarily intended to act as fleet flagships, and was equipped with the same type of fire-control system as the Salamis-class. Symbolizing the EFF's "big guns, big ship" philosophy, it was equipped with seven gun turrets, which were originally solid shell cannons, but later replaced with twin barreled mega particle cannons during the first modernization operation. Since the Magellan-class was expected to engage enemy ships and fleets, it was specialized for anti-ship combat and featured exceptional armor and firepower for its time. However, its fire-control system was unusable under Minovsky particle interference, rendering it defenseless against the far more nimble mobile suits. This, coupled with its lack of mobile suit carrying capacity, greatly reduced its usefulness. Though this changed in the middle and late stages of the One Year War, when they were modified and equipped with mobile suit carrying capacity, allowing them to fight the Principality of Zeon's vessels on equal footing. The mobile suits were carried inside converted cargo bays and/or on the ship's hulls.