{"id":85668,"date":"2024-03-05T16:26:32","date_gmt":"2024-03-05T16:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2024\/03\/05\/rearming-us-navy-ships-at-sea-is-no-longer-an-option-but-a-necessity\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:01:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:01:59","slug":"rearming-us-navy-ships-at-sea-is-no-longer-an-option-but-a-necessity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/opinion\/2024\/03\/05\/rearming-us-navy-ships-at-sea-is-no-longer-an-option-but-a-necessity\/","title":{"rendered":"Rearming US Navy ships at sea is no longer an option, but a necessity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One simple step can \u201crevolutionize surface warfare,\u201d as U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro put it at the latest naval conference WEST<\/a> in San Diego: rearming our warships at sea<\/a>. Today the only way to reload vertical launching system cells<\/a> \u2014 the mainstay of the Navy\u2019s front-line warship \u2014 is to pull into port, often taking warships out of action for weeks at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider the situation in the Red Sea. For our Navy\u2019s warships engaging the Houthi rebel group, reloading VLS cells would require a transit through the Suez Canal to ports in Greece or Italy, about 2,000 miles or more away. This lost time, under persistent Houthi attacks, proves this ability to reload underway is no longer a luxury \u2014 it\u2019s a necessity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VLS cells carry most of the surface fleet\u2019s firepower onboard destroyers and cruisers. From VLS cells, the Navy employs air and missile defense weapons as well as long-range strike and anti-ship missiles. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyers have the capacity to store 90-96 missiles in VLS cells depending on the variant of warship. Warships are loaded with an assortment of weapons before deploying to meet expected mission needs and ensure the ship\u2019s self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reloading the most capable missile defense weapon \u2014 the RIM-161, also known as the Standard Missile-3 \u2014 into one of these vertical cells is a delicate matter. It requires precisely loading a 1.5-ton, 21.5-foot-long missile into a tube built into the hull of the ship. At sea, the movement caused by even calm seas makes this nearly impossible to do without damaging the missile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2019 Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments study<\/a> found a VLS reload-at-sea capability could provide the equivalent of an additional 18 destroyers or cruisers in a Pacific war scenario<\/a>. With China\u2019s modern navy larger than ours and backed by a massive shipbuilding industry, every one of our warships must be kept in the fight. As such, the U.S. Navy can ill afford to lose one warship for weeks to arrive at a safe Pacific harbor to reload weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\t