The Navy’s most advanced surface warship is on a mission in the Asia-Pacific, and it could be the precursor for the deployment of hypersonic missiles to the region.
One of the Navy’s new class of guided missile destroyers, the USS Zumwalt, reached Japan on Monday, according to the Washington Times, which described the warship’s current deployment as its furthest from its port home of San Diego, California. Its presence in the region will likely stir up consternation within the Chinese government as the two sides regroup from a brief escalation of tensions as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visited Taiwan.
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This destroyer, which is assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, will be upgraded next year to accommodate the Pentagon’s Common Hypersonic Glide Body, a weapons system that fires hypersonic missiles using a booster rocket motor, according to a report from the U.S. Naval Institute last month.
The glide body “is to be maneuverable, making it more difficult to detect and intercept and can travel at Mach 5 or higher … at least five times faster than the speed of sound or up to 13,000 miles (20,921 kilometers) per hour,” according to CNN, which cited a May 2022 Congressional Research Service report.
The United States has budgeted three ships in the Zumwalt class, which are roughly 610 feet long and displace 16,000 tons, which is about 100 feet longer and 6,000 tons heavier than the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
The Pentagon has repeatedly called China its military “pacing challenge,” while Beijing escalated tensions in the region over the summer following Pelosi’s trip, which China said demonstrated a change in U.S. policy despite the Biden administration‘s denials.
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The Chinese Communist Party-controlled newspaper the Global Times reported in late August that China would complete its military expansion and modernization by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests,” while Naval News reported that five 052D destroyers, which are capable for launching long-range missiles, are currently being built.
