Fearing China will deploy hypersonic weapons to sink ships in the Pacific, the U.S. Navy is moving forward with a plan to arm some of its vessels with Patriot interceptor missiles, two senior defense officials said.
One industry official said putting the highly agile Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors, used primarily in the U.S. by the Army, aboard Navy ships anticipates advances in Chinese missile technology, including the use of highly maneuverable hypersonic weapons.
Integrating the Lockheed Martin-made missiles with ships' air defenses comes amid simmering tension in the Indo-Pacific region as China rapidly modernizes its military, and in the wake of successful missile defense efforts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
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