U.S. Gathers Affordable Anti-Ship Weapons To Counter China In Indo Pacific Region

The United States is developing a massive, cost-effective arsenal of anti-ship weapons to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.

Industry sources have emphasized the significance of this “affordable mass” approach, stating that it is a direct response to China’s enormous arsenal of ships and conventional ballistic missiles, some of which are specifically designed to target enemy vessels.

Experts believe that this strategy aims to counter China’s efforts to restrict US Navy movements in critical regions such as the Western Pacific and the First Island Chain.

The QUICKSINK weapon, currently being developed by the US military, is an essential part of this approach. QUICKSINK is a low-cost bomb with GPS guidance and a seeker system capable of tracking moving targets, offering major benefits to US forces.

The United States Air Force recently tested this weapon in the Gulf of Mexico, sinking a target ship with a B-2 stealth bomber. QUICKSINK, manufactured by Boeing with a seeker designed by BAE Systems, is usable with the existing inventory of Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits, transforming “dumb” bombs into precision-guided weapons.

Despite China’s quantitative advantage in anti-ship missiles, increased US manufacturing of QUICKSINK might help reduce the gap, placing China’s warships in more danger than in decades. The US Indo-Pacific Command has been pushing for large-scale weapon acquisition, while the exact quantities are unknown.

The United States has also deployed several anti-ship weapons across the region. During military exercises in the Philippines in April, the US Army deployed its new Typhon mobile missile batteries, which can launch SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles.

These missiles, based on older designs and existing stocks, may be easily manufactured, enabling the United States and its allies to catch up quickly in the regional missile arms race.

Military officials have refused to disclose the number of anti-ship missiles deployed in the Indo-Pacific. However, government data shows that more than 800 SM-6 missiles will be purchased over the next five years, with several thousand Tomahawks and hundreds of thousands of JDAMs already in the United States inventory.

Placing these missiles in strategic locations such as the Philippines would let the US target much of the South China Sea, where China claims authority over 90% of the waters. Several Southeast Asian nations, including Taiwan, reject this claim.

Analysts have stated that the US plan levels the playing field, giving examples in other places, such as the Red Sea, where low-tech anti-ship missiles have significantly disrupted civilian commerce.

Although the Pentagon and China’s Ministry of Defence have not commented on these developments, defense experts believe that the accumulation of relatively inexpensive and mobile anti-ship weapons will complicate Chinese naval operations, making it more difficult for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

Reference: Reuters