A senior official from the US Department of Defense recently stated that the US Navy plans to install land-based Patriot-3 missiles (PAC-3 MSE) on some warships due to concerns about the threat of hypersonic weapons on warships deployed in the Pacific. What is the deeper meaning behind the US push to launch the Patriot-3 missile on board? For a long time, the US Navy and Army have independently developed their own air defense missile systems, and launch platforms and fire control software cannot be used interchangeably. In the early 1990s, the US military began advocating for the universalization of air defense missiles and launch systems, promoting the coordinated integration of land and sea air defense systems. However, constrained by factors such as interest chains, differences in technical standards, and inter service "mountain chauvinism", the progress is difficult. In recent years, due to considerations such as reducing procurement costs and logistical pressures, the US military has decided to continue promoting the universalization of weapons, leading to the emergence of the Patriot-3 missile on board program. The manufacturer of the Patriot-3 missile, Lockheed Martin of the United States, has been planning to ship the missile for a long time. In the summer of 2023, the company preliminarily verified the communication capability between the Patriot-3 missile and the AN/SPY-1 series phased array radar, which is the core component of the US Navy's shipborne Aegis system. In May of this year, Lockheed Martin used the land-based Mk70 shipborne vertical launch system for the first time, launching a Patriot-3 missile and shooting down a simulated cruise missile target. The above test means that the Patriot-3 missile will soon appear on US Navy ships, alleviating the problem of insufficient ammunition inventory in the US military. Lockheed Martin engineers have stated that currently, there are virtually no technical issues with the Patriot-3 missile being loaded onto ships, and only a few modifications are needed to meet the requirements of US Navy vessels. Commentators on the plan to reshape the air defense system pointed out that the US military is eager to promote the installation of the Patriot-3 missile on board, based on its own needs for building a sea based anti missile system and drawing lessons from regional conflicts, with the aim of maintaining control over important global waters and air defense advantages. The US Navy's shipborne "Aegis" system is compatible with various types of air defense missiles such as the "Standard-2", "Standard-3", "Standard-6", and the improved "Sea Sparrow". It is expected that the "Patriot-3" missile to be launched on board can play a certain supplementary role to the above-mentioned air defense missiles. For example, the main interception area of the Standard-3 missile is located outside the atmosphere, while the Patriot-3 missile mainly conducts terminal interception inside the atmosphere. In terms of terminal anti missile interception, compared with the "Standard" -2 and "Standard" -6 missiles, the "Patriot" -3 missile has higher efficiency in destroying targets and stronger maneuverability. The report states that the annual production of the Patriot-3 missile is several times higher than that of the Standard-6 missile, and it is smaller in size. When deployed in the vertical launch system of US warships, it can achieve "four rounds in one pit", thereby increasing the urgently needed interception ammunition storage and deployment quantity of the US Navy. In the future, the Patriot-3 missile will form a multi-layered defense system with missiles such as the Standard-3 and Standard-6, improving the safety factor of the US Navy fleet and its flexibility in air defense and anti missile operations. In order to promote the launch of the Patriot-3 missile on board, Lockheed Martin has repeatedly stated that the Patriot missile and the US Navy's current "Standard" series of carrier based air defense missiles are not in competition, but complement each other. Moreover, when the ship is equipped with the Patriot-3 missile, it can save the more versatile Standard-6 missile during air defense missions to cope with scenarios that require its "unique offensive capability". Analysis suggests that Lockheed Martin's vigorous promotion precisely reflects the monopoly position of Raytheon's "Standard" missile series in the US Navy, and the Patriot-3 missile will still face fierce marketing competition when it is launched. In addition, the US Navy's Aegis ships equipped with Patriot-3 missiles are not "indestructible". In high-intensity combat, it is still difficult to resist the opponent's comprehensive use of decoy release, electromagnetic interference, and saturation attacks. (New Society)