US Navy turns oil platforms into active missile launch stations with five times the capacity of a destroyer

In the wake of Congress’s latest $95 billion foreign aid spending package, the U.S. Navy has opted to deploy new methods to counter China in the Pacific, The Defense Post reported.

While the spending package includes $8.1 billion for Taiwan and Pacific nations, the Navy plans to convert surplus oil rigs into mobile military bases. These bases will serve as supply depots for ships and also as a missile defense system, according to the report.

The project, known as the Mobile Defense/Depot Platform or MODEP, was developed by naval architecture firm Gibbs & Cox, which said these bases could carry 512 vertical launch system cells or 100 large rocket launchers. That amounts to five times what a Navy destroyer can carry.

The concept for MODEP was unveiled in early April at the Sea Air Space Expo in National Harbor, Maryland.

David Zook, solutions architect and combat systems department manager for Gibbs & Cox, told Naval News: “Our goal here is to find a solution to help solve the challenging problem of capability constraints in the Western Pacific. Because there are not enough cells, not enough missiles, not enough to keep those ships in the forward station.’

A Navy official highlighted the benefits of MODEP, saying the system delivers a “substantial reduction in risks and costs associated with land defense systems,” according to Interesting Engineering.

Cost was certainly taken into account in the Navy’s decision to go with the MODEP.

The price tag is one-tenth that of creating a new missile defense system.

While this is a recent development for the Navy, work has been done in recent years to investigate the supposed benefits of the system.

A 2018 study identified potential vulnerabilities in these types of installations and found them to be ineffective compared to traditional ground-based options.

Although MODEP is an innovative and new concept, the underlying intent is still concerning.

As mentioned earlier, MODEP was adopted with China in mind.

During his recent trip to China, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was told by Chinese Communist Party leader Chen Jining: “Whether China and the US choose cooperation or confrontation, it will affect the well-being of both peoples.” , of nations and also on the future of humanity. ”

Chen made it clear where this relationship could go, with war not being ruled out.

The Financial Times reported that Blinken was expected to tell the Chinese to stop supporting Russian efforts in Ukraine or face punitive measures.

With Blinken’s efforts in mind and the massive recently approved spending package, the introduction of MODEP in the Pacific suggests that the US is prepared for the worst.

Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.