Two senior defense officials have said that the U.S. Navy fears China will use hypersonic weapons in the Pacific to sink ships. They are moving ahead with a plan of arming some of their vessels with Patriot missiles.

According to an industry official, the deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 MSE interceptors aboard Navy ships, which are used primarily by the U.S. Army, anticipates the development of Chinese missile technology including hypersonic weapons that can be highly maneuverable.

The integration of Lockheed Martin missiles into ships' air defences comes at a time when tensions are rising in the Indo-Pacific, as China modernizes rapidly its military and after successful missile defense initiatives in Ukraine and Middle East.

Tom Karako is a missile defence expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington. He said that it is unclear how many PAC-3 interceptors the Navy needs, but the demand for them is "through-the-roof".

He added that there is a strong interest from other governments, and the U.S. Army plans to double its production in the coming years.

Industry sources say that the U.S. is looking to Japan, a close ally, for a joint production facility for Patriot missiles. Lockheed Martin also wants to set up a production line in Florida for missile seekers.

Lockheed Martin wants the U.S. Army to approve the additional production.

The PAC-3 already destroyed hypersonic maneuvering missiles in Ukraine. The Navy believes it can add another layer of high-probability to its antimissile systems that haven't been tested against such weapons.

The Navy said that "more testing is needed in the development roadmap. This will include launching PAC-3MSE from a vessel and validating the communication with the SPY-1 Radar", the main sensor of the Aegis Missile System.

This follows the efforts of the U.S. Military, which have already produced new weapons and strategies in the Indo-Pacific to deter Beijing from a war or win one if one occurs.

Beijing's most advanced anti-ship missile, the DF-27 (which uses a hypersonic vehicle to maneuver towards its target) was tested in 2023. Pentagon's China Military Report that year stated the weapon was in development.

The PAC-3 missiles are shorter ranged than Navy's SM-6 and can not reach space.

A missile defense program manager with direct experience of the Aegis said that steering rockets close to the nose makes it more agile. It also increases the likelihood of destroying the threat because the "hit to kill concept" is used, where the interceptor hits the target instead of exploding near it.

The program director said that when facing advanced Chinese weapons including hypersonic glide vehicles warheads, these qualities "supplement existing missiles aboard a U.S. vessel very well", by being able more easily to hit high-speed and maneuvering ballistic rockets and destroy them.

He declined to identify himself, as he is not authorized to address the media.

GROWING THREAT

A PAC-3 interceptor, which is a part of the Patriot missile system, primarily employed by the U.S. Army for land-based defense, was successfully tested on a Mk. The 70 vertical launcher has never been used on a naval vessel.

Defense officials and those familiar with the issue said that in the past year it intercepted a number of ballistic threats, aircraft, and advanced Khinzal Russian missiles. This makes it a desirable addition to Navy magazines.

The PAC-3 round weighs about 300 kg (660 lbs) compared to 1,500 kg (lbs) for the SM-6 and is approximately 9 cm (3 inches).

Estimates vary the cost per missile depending on the client and the deal. However, both come in at around $4 million.

China has developed a formidable arsenal anti-ship missiles. These include the DF-21D “carrier killer” and anti-ship warheads on its DF-26 Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM).

Tim Wright, a member of the International Institute of Strategic Studies' missile defense initiative, says that the DF-27 appears to have an aerodynamic warhead, which can move to evade defences and more easily hit a target in motion. (Reporting from Mike Stone in Washington, and Gerry Doyle at Singapore; editing by David Gregorio & Clarence Fernandez).

(source: Reuters)