Addressing the WEST 2024 conference in San Diego on 15 February, Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro said he had instructed the navy to perform an at-sea demonstration of VLS reloading with the Transferrable Re-Arming Mechanism (TRAM) equipment in mid-2024. TRAM, which has been developed ‘in-house’ by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division to allow the reloading of vertical launcher cells in conditions up to Sea State 5, uses an articulated crane that can lift and rotate a missile canister vertically, then lower it into the launcher cell.
US Navy ships are currently required to return to port to replenish vertical launch silos once missile loadouts are exhausted or diminished. The MK 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) was originally designed with a so-called strikedown crane to allow for re-arming at sea, but it proved difficult to use in service and was later removed.
Del Toro told the WEST 2024 conference that the navy urgently needed a means to top up weapons magazines while underway – particularly in the Pacific theater. “The capability to rapidly re-arm our missile shooters at sea using our time-proven—and singular—advantage in connected replenishment will revolutionize surface warfare,” he said. “Re-arming our missile combatants at sea will make our fleet more lethal—and more present—sending an unmistakable signal to our allies and deterring our adversaries.”
SECNAV added that, following discussions with Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Sam Paparo, plans are now being drawn up to get an at-sea re-arm capability to the fleet. “I’ve directed an at-sea demonstration no later than this summer for reloading our vertical launch systems at sea using the [TRAM] mechanism developed at Port Hueneme,” Del Toro said, adding: “As we move deeper into this critical decade, the near-term deterrent effect of fielding TRAM in the fleet cannot be overstated. “You don’t have to look any further than the dozens of missile engagements conducted in the Red Sea by our destroyers to realize that a capability like TRAM is long overdue.”