TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US Navy has developed a new crane system to speed up the missile loading process on its ships, addressing concerns about ammunition depletion in potential conflicts.

Defense analysts have warned that Navy ships could run out of missiles within days or even hours if conflict erupted in the western Pacific, according to the Wall Street Journal. Without a reliable method for reloading nearby, ships might be forced to return to bases in Hawaii or California to replenish their supply.

In response, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro prioritized finding ways to rearm ships more efficiently. “The ability to rearm at sea will be critical to any future conflict in the Pacific,” Del Toro said.

Navy engineers have developed a prototype called the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method (TRAM), which significantly reduces the missile reloading process from two months to just days. The system is expected to enhance the combat readiness of Navy ships in scenarios such as a potential conflict with China in the Taiwan Strait.

TRAM operates on tracks above a ship’s vertical missile silos and uses mechanical claws to load canisters containing missiles. Missiles are transported from a supply ship via a zipline, with TRAM synchronizing its movements to those of the vessel.

Retired Navy Admiral James Stavridis said the US “should have developed this capability fully decades ago,” lamenting how frequently his ships had to leave action to rearm.

While similar systems were proposed in the 1990s, technological limitations at the time made them impractical. Recent advances in 3D printing and motion-detection technology have now made such innovations feasible.

Currently, only 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and nine amphibious assault ships in the US Navy can operate indefinitely at sea, none of which are equipped with vertical missile silos, according to the Wall Street Journal. TRAM could raise that number to approximately 100 ships without requiring new vessel construction.

Del Toro said the Navy plans to field TRAM within two to three years. In the meantime, the Navy is exploring new resupply sites at allied ports to bolster its logistical capabilities.