USS Zumwalt sails the Pacific amid increasing US-China tensions
The USS Zumwalt is one of three multi-mission guided missile destroyers in a class that the Navy claims would “create a new level of battlespace complexity for potential adversaries.”
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USS Zumwalt sails the Pacific amid increasing US-China tensions
Former US Navy captain and analyst Carl Schuster has revealed that the US navy's most advanced surface warship, the USS Zumwalt, is conducting a mission in the western Pacific that might pave the way for the future stationing of US hypersonic missiles in the area.
According to Schuster “The presence of a stealth warship will draw a great deal of (Chinese) interest,” particularly if the Zumwalt is armed with hypersonic missiles.
The USS Zumwalt is one of three multi-mission guided missile destroyers in a class that the Navy claims would “create a new level of battlespace complexity for potential adversaries.”
This USS Zumwalt docked in Japan on Monday after docking at the port of Guam the previous week, according to a US Navy 7th Fleet spokeswoman. Additionally, the warship has been assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, the biggest US Navy destroyer squadron located outside of the US, which is based at Yokosuka Naval Base not far from Tokyo.
The USS Zumwalt has been cited by Schuster as “the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world,” however, the CNN report noted that China has other naval advantages.
Though it cannot rival Zumwalt's size, the People's Liberation Army Navy of China can undoubtedly prevail in the quantity battle.
The USS Michael Mansoor and the USS Lyndon B. Johnson are the other two ships of the Zumwalt class that the US Navy possesses.
The Chinese naval fleet has surpassed the US to become the largest in the world, and the PLA Navy now has six Type 055s in service with more coming.
It is worth noting here that Type 055 features 112 launch cells that can perform the same functions as the USS Zumwalt's 80 vertical launch cells for missiles that can attack land, sea, and anti-submarine targets.
Earlier on September 23, three US Navy vessels docked in Busan, South Korea to conduct joint operation drills alongside the South Korean navy as part of a mutual effort by Seoul and Washington to increase US strategic assets in the region, sparking further tensions with the DPRK.
