A map by Newsweek shows that USS Michael Monsoor, an American warship built with stealth features, has been underway in the Pacific Ocean after departing its home port in late March.

The United States Seventh Fleet previously confirmed the Michael Monsoor‘s deployment to Newsweek, saying its presence in the Western Pacific Ocean “highlights the U.S. Navy‘s commitment to maintaining peace, security, and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific.”

Why It Matters

The deployment of the Michael Monsoor, which is a Zumwalt-class destroyer, comes as the U.S. seeks to maintain its naval dominance in the Indo-Pacific region. China is expanding its naval reach and presence with a fleet of over 370 vessels, the world’s largest by hull count.

The Michael Monsoor and its two sister ships, USS Zumwalt and USS Lyndon B. Johnson, have a rather unusual appearance compared with other U.S. destroyers. They are designed with a tumblehome hull to reduce radar reflection, making them more difficult to detect.

The Zumwalt-class stealth destroyers are now undergoing major modification, which will see them replace one of their two 155 mm naval guns with four launch tubes for hypersonic missiles, a superfast weapon that can travel at over five times the speed of sound.

What To Know

The nearly 16,000-ton Michael Monsoor, which currently has 80 tubes for launching a variety of missiles in its original armament configuration, departed its home port at Naval Base San Diego on March 28, according to photos released by the U.S. Navy.

Following a westward transit across the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the stealth destroyer arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii on April 3. A week later, it was operating in the Western Pacific Ocean, which is part of the U.S. Seventh Fleet’s area of operations.

The Michael Monsoor was seen sailing with the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in a photo taken on April 10. The destroyer can operate independently or as part of a carrier strike group, Lieutenant Victor Murkowski, U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs Officer, told Newsweek.

On April 17, the Michael Monsoor made a port call on the island of Guam, the westernmost U.S. territory, which forms part of the Second Island Chain, part of a U.S. containment strategy designed to restrict China’s military access to the Pacific Ocean in the event of conflict.

According to a website that records U.S. naval vessels’ deployments, the Michael Monsoor moored at Naval Base Guam for a four-day visit. The U.S. Navy said the destroyer is now assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, the U.S. Seventh Fleet’s principal surface force.

The Nimitz left Guam with destroyers USS Gridley and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee on Monday, following a scheduled port visit that began on Friday. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is currently operating in the Western Pacific, the U.S. Navy said.

What People Are Saying

Lieutenant Victor Murkowski, U.S. Seventh Fleet Public Affairs Officer, told Newsweek: “The Michael Monsoor is a visible and powerful symbol of the U.S. commitment to a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific and its presence in the theater demonstrates our ability to integrate emerging technology into real-world operations to rapidly advance our ability to deter, defend, and if necessary, defeat aggression.”

The U.S. Navy said: “Stealthy, powerful, and lethal, the Navy created the Zumwalt-class to bridge from current needs to future capabilities, adding space and power accommodating systems not yet imagined but designed to counter adversaries that challenge us now and in the decades to come … these ships are equipped with numerous advanced technology and survivability systems.”

What Happens Next

It was not immediately clear whether the Michael Monsoor will continue operating as part of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. It remains to be seen if the stealth destroyer will transit the contested waters in the Western Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.