US Navy Developing New Attack Weapons Against China in Indo-Pacific

As the US Navy is getting into a huge arms race, they need new attack weapons to counter threats and win in the battlefield. Areas like Asia and Europe are warefare theater, and these arms will give the US an edge in warfighting.

According to senior navy leaders in Fox News, the Navy is expediting the design and development of such weapon systems like new type destroyers, Tomahawk missile systems, hypersonic weapon, and laser-based types that will give the edge in offensive strategy in the high seas.

Vice Adm. Rich Brown, Command, Naval Surfaces Forces, mentioned that the Navy is moving forward to be a more effective fighting force. Better yet, the extra weapons will give the U.S. Naval forces a knockout punch against adversaries. He divulge these details during the Surface Navy Association Annual Symposium, as cited in Knowledia.

Furthermore, he noted that specific weapon systems are meant to keep the peace and avoid a full-scale conflict. Concentrating on this kind of deterrence will be the US Navy's focus in an era of great power competition. Competition from China and Russia is pushing America at the forefront of military technology, which means US needs to stay one step ahead of its adversaries.

Weapons like lasers that are mounted on ships, SM-6 missile, and DDG Flight III Destroyers are the types currently used by the Navy which are heavily-armed and advanced. Another edge is the SPY-6 radar that has more features than the last model.

Also read: US Navy Develops Sea Drones to Join Surface Fleet for Joint Attack

New missiles developed for ships will be Maritime Strike Tomahawk that is derived from the Tomahawk, which has been used for decades. The latest version will have an upgraded tomahawk that has better guidance to track targets that are moving at sea.

It can track and hit enemy ships beyond the visual range, which can be several hundred miles. Current versions of the Tomahawk will have a GPS guidance including drone functions with dual targeting link for hitting stationary targets. The maritime Tomahawk gives marine commanders an invaluable standoff option.

Brown said the Tomahawk will be able to have a wider range of targets to hit. Another system is the SM-6 missile, which is armed on multiple mounting that will be for attack and defensive purposes. The weapon will be able to track and interdict missiles that are targeting American ships. Airborne links will assist it to hit targets in multi-domain.

One of the interlinked attack systems that share a data network is called the Naval Integrated Fire Control Counter Air. These systems boast seamless connections like ship-radar and Hawkeye surveillance plane, or the F-35 that have clear sight from the air. These systems give better all-around battle awareness to attack and defend over the horizon.

Before F-35 came on the scene in sea warfare, the US Navy lacked an element in its BVR formula. Recently, USS America amphibious assault ship had 13 F-35 that gave it airpower, defense, and offense on a light carrier.

F-35s in a small flattop is no different than the Nimitz because of its smaller capacity. Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, agreed with an offense-oriented strategy to give hard hits to China or Russia in order to keep the peace in the Indo-Pacific.