As reported by Newsweek, the nuclear submarine “Minnesota“ will change port from Hawaii to Guam. The decision comes amid a rapid increase in China's fleet, as cited by Focus.
Guam, the westernmost point and territory of the United States, is 1,500 to 1,700 miles from the Taiwan Strait and the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas. This makes it ideally situated for projection of US naval power, even though it is within range of China's medium-range ballistic missiles.
US military leaders say China is in the midst of its largest conventional military build-up since World War II; His forces now regularly operate outside the first island chain. Recent deployments have taken them well beyond the latter: last month, a four-ship flotilla and a joint bomber patrol with Russia reached the Bering Sea near Alaska.
„Minnesota“ is armed with Mark 48 torpedoes and can fire up to 12 Tomahawk cruise missiles to attack land targets from its vertical launch system. The Virginia-class submarines, which have been in service since the early 2000s, have advanced warfighting capabilities, including littoral operations in support of anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike warfare and reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance.< /p>
It will be the first submarine of its class to remain permanently off the coast of Guam, “adding a next-generation attack submarine with enhanced capabilities to the Navy's forward force,” Navy officials told the publication.