 In an era of increasingly effective countermeasures against anti-ship missiles, the countermeasures against torpedoes are relatively few and less effective in comparison, so although ineffective in open waters, torpedo boats can still play a role in coastal defense given sufficient protection.Their stealthiness and high speed are useful for surprise attacks on an enemy from coastal hideouts, such as caves, if the boats are integrated into an overall system that includes a supporting C4ISR structure, as well as shore defenses, aircraft, and larger ships.As a result of this philosophy, the production of Type 025 torpedo boats lasted well into the 1990s, despite the fact that the retirement of early units of this class had already begun in the mid 1980s.