One of the US Navy‘s most technologically advanced surface warships, the USS Zumwalt, was dispatched to the western Pacific. It arrived in Tokyo on Monday. This was perceived as a power play by the US. Moreover, it may deploy hypersonic missiles to the area as tensions between China and Taiwan rise.
The USS Zumwalt is a member of a class of guided missile destroyers. It has been used in several missions and the Navy predicts it would “create a new degree of battlespace complexity for potential enemies.”
There are two other ships in the Zumwalt class – USS Michael Mansoor and USS Lyndon B. Johnson
The Zumwalt class also includes the USS Michael Mansoor and the USS Lyndon B. Johnson. The warship is a component of Destroyer Squadron 15. It is the largest destroyer squadron run by the Navy out of Yokosuka Naval Base. Notably, it made a port stop in Guam before sailing to Japan on Monday.
“The presence of a stealth warship will draw a great deal of (Chinese) interest, especially if the Zumwalt is outfitted with hypersonic weapons,” Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, told CNN.
At 185 meters long, the USS Zumwalt is larger than any Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and is now described as “the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world.”
The newest Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HCB) weaponry is another way the Pentagon plans to modernize the warship in the future. According to the most recent US Navy brief, the weapon system launches missiles at hypersonic speed using booster rocket motors. “The C-HGB is intended to be able to destroy targets by virtue of its velocity alone,” the report said.