US Navy focuses on faster rearming of surface ships in wake of Red Sea combat

USS Laboon and other US Navy warships had to conduct expeditionary reloading after naval combat in the Red Sea. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

As US Navy (USN) surface warships defend allies, the open sea lanes, and themselves in the Red Sea region from missile and unmanned system attacks, the USN is developing quicker ways to rearm its ships for missile combat.

USN officials – including those on guided-missile destroyers (DDGs) fighting Red Sea battles – told Janes the navy has become more effective and is quicker with rearming ships in forward-based piers, making it possible for those ships to return to patrols more quickly.

Concurrently, the USN has been devoting resources to develop a Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM) on an underway warship. These efforts paid off with the first actual demonstration in October on a warship in open ocean, the USN confirmed on 15 October.

Sailors aboard the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Chosin (CG 65) used the hydraulically powered TRAM device to load an empty missile canister into the ship's MK 41 vertical launching system (VLS) while off the coast of San Diego on 11 October, the USN confirmed.

USN Secretary Carlos Del Toro spearheaded the effort to develop TRAM, as navy warships became increasingly involved in missile combat since late 2023 in the Red Sea region.

“This demonstration marks a key milestone on the path to perfecting this capability and fielding it for sustained operations at sea,” Del Toro said in a statement released following the Chosin TRAM demonstration.

For the at-sea demonstration, Chosin connected to Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Washington Chambers