US sends Navy’s most advanced warship to East Asia

The US Navy sent USS Zumwalt, The country’s most advanced warship, to East Asia. This ship crossed the Pacific Ocean for the first time and reached Japan yesterday. According to CNN, the mission could prepare for the eventual deployment of US hypersonic missiles in the region.

HE USS Zumwalt described by radars as a “simple fishing boat”. In addition, it is larger and can store more ammunition than currently used warships: it has 80 vertical launch cells for missiles capable of hitting land and sea targets.

The U.S. Navy claims the ship will “create a new battlefield complexity for potential adversaries.” In a statement it says that the ship has been assigned to the Destroyer. fleet 15th, largest U.S. Navy destroyer fleet outside the country operating at the Naval Base Yokosukanear Tokyo.

According to Carl Schuster, former captain of the US Navy, this secret war navy should receive a lot of attention, especially from China. According to a report by the US Naval Institute, the Zumwalt will have a Pentagon hypersonic cannon that uses a booster rocket motor to fire missiles at that speed.

Lieutenant Katherine Serrano, spokesperson for Destroyer Squadron 15, praised the navy’s build. “(Zumwalt) plays a key role in maintaining our competitiveness and securing our allies and partners in the region.”

What is Zumwalt?

At 185 meters long and weighing 16,000 metric tons, the Zumwalt is “the world’s largest and most advanced surface fighter,” according to a Navy fact sheet.

Considered the main ships in the US Navy and the Chinese fleet respectively, neither of the destroyers Arleigh Burke and Type 055 are that powerful: the North Americans are 30 meters shorter and have a displacement of less than 10 thousand tons, while the Chinese have up to 13 thousand tons.

The problem is that only three of the Zumwalt-class ships, named USS Michael Mansoor and another named USS Lyndon B. Johnson, will sail the seas. China will have six active Type 055s.

This is explained by the high cost of production, reaching US$8 billion each (approximately R$43 billion at current price), according to a 2018 report by the government and sent to Congress.