US Navy Warship Rearms at Sea With One Eye on China War

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A United States warship recently conducted a rearm-at-sea operation, demonstrating the Navy's capability to sustain combat power during a potential war with China in the vast Pacific.
The destroyer USS Farragut had its missile canisters reloaded while anchored alongside the crane ship USNS Gopher State off the coast of Virginia on July 17, the U.S. Navy said.
Newsweek has contacted the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Why It Matters
The U.S. military has identified China—operator of the world's largest navy by hull count—as both a threat and a challenge in its priority theater, the Indo-Pacific, where it has deployed its most capable units, including missile-armed destroyers and nuclear-powered submarines.
The rearmament demonstration comes amid concerns about how the U.S. Navy can sustain its presence at sea during combat—such as in its Red Sea operations, which expended a large number of missiles—without diverting warships to distant ports for replenishment.
While U.S. warships can reload their munitions at bases or friendly ports across the western Pacific—including those in Japan and Guam—China has built a missile arsenal capable of targeting such facilities, potentially putting them out of action on the first day of a war.
What To Know
According to a photo released by the U.S. Navy, the Gopher State simultaneously transferred three missile canisters to the Farragut during what the official described as a "vertical launching system (VLS) rearmament evolution" conducted as part of Large Scale Global Exercise 2025.
The United States crane ship USNS Gopher State transfers three missile canisters to the destroyer USS Farragut during a vertical launching system rearmament evolution off the coast of Virginia on July 17.
The United States crane ship USNS Gopher State transfers three missile canisters to the destroyer USS Farragut during a vertical launching system rearmament evolution off the coast of Virginia on July 17.
U.S. Navy/Cmdr. Duane Case
Missile canisters were transferred to both the Farragut's forward and aft VLS cells, also known as launchers. The warship, a Flight IIA Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, is equipped with 96 launchers—32 forward and 64 aft—to accommodate various types of missiles.
This marked the second time the Navy demonstrated rearming a warship at sea since October, when the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Chosin conducted a similar operation with the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Washington Chambers off the coast of California.
However, during the demonstration in the Pacific, the Washington Chambers was seen transferring only one missile canister to the Chosin's forward VLS cells. The warship is equipped with 122 VLS cells—61 in the forward and 61 in the aft launching systems.
The Navy said the simultaneous rearmament of the Farragut's forward and aft VLS cells marked the first operation of its kind, demonstrating the vital role of expeditionary logistics in supporting "distributed maritime operations" and sustaining combat power at sea.
Distributed maritime operations is the Navy's operating concept in response to China's anti-ship capabilities. Its features include making it harder for the adversary to target U.S. ships by dispersing them over a larger area and spreading weapons across different platforms.
Tom Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, told Newsweek that the Navy would need to be able to rearm at sea or at anchor away from known port facilities, given the threat China poses to U.S. regional bases and the long distances from home waters at which U.S. warships would need to operate in a trans-Pacific conflict.
United States sailors aboard the destroyer USS Rafael Peralta guide a missile canister into a vertical launching system cell while in port in Eden, Australia, on August 22, 2023.
United States sailors aboard the destroyer USS Rafael Peralta guide a missile canister into a vertical launching system cell while in port in Eden, Australia, on August 22, 2023.
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Colby A. Mothershead/U.S. Navy
Following the Chosin's rearm-at-sea demonstration, then-Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro called this ability critical to any future conflict in the Pacific: "Without the ability to rearm at sea, our service combatants must return to port, sometimes thousands of miles away."
What People Are Saying
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander John Sefcik, a weapons officer assigned to USS Farragut, said in a news release on July 22: "The ability to conduct safe and efficient vertical missile rearm at sea is a critical warfighting enabler."
U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Charles Kirol, a commander of the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, said in a news release on July 22: "Rearming warships at sea is a capability that adds significant complexity for those who choose to challenge us in conflict."
Then-U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said in October 2024: "We are transforming the way the Navy fights."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen when the U.S. Navy will officially employ rearm-at-sea as part of its routine operations. Until then, U.S. warships must return to port for rearmament.