The United States on Tuesday conducted a ballistic missile intercept test in Guam for the first time, preparing the Western Pacific Ocean outpost for defense against China’s threats.
The Aegis Guam System, which defends the westernmost territory of America, launched a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor missile from Andersen Air Force Base, and successfully intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target. This is the first ballistic missile defense event executed from Guam, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.
This is a critical milestone in the defense of Guam and the region, said Rear Admiral Greg Huffman, the commander of the Joint Task Force-Micronesia. It is responsible for homeland defense of U.S. territories in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, including Guam.
“It [the intercept test] confirmed our ability to detect, track, and engage a target missile in flight, increasing our readiness to defend against evolving adversary threats,” Huffman added.
Guam is a strategic location for the U.S. military in the Indo-Pacific region, which is only a little over 1,800 miles away from the coast of China; this makes it an ideal staging area to project military power, albeit within the range of Chinese intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Newsweek contacted the Chinese defense and foreign ministries for comment by email.
The Pentagon has characterized China as the pacing challenge in the priority Indo-Pacific theater. Guam is part of the second island chain, one of the layers of a defense concept that seeks to constrain China’s military activities by using allied or friendly territories.
During a tour of Guam’s missile defense site in October, Tom Mancinelli, the U.S. Navy‘s acting under secretary, said the island is “physically closer to Beijing than Hawaii.” His visit provided insights into the site’s role in protecting Guam from ballistic missile threats.
Homeland defense is the Pentagon’s top priority, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency added, and Guam is critical for sustaining and maintaining U.S. military presence and deterring adversaries. The island is home to American Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps bases.
During the test, the Aegis Guam System’s AN/TPY-6 radar tracked the target, which was launched from an aircraft. The interceptor missile was fired from the Vertical Launching System (VLS) and intercepted the target over 200 nautical miles [230 miles] off the coast of Guam.
The intercept test was held as part of the Sling Stone, a capabilities exercise run by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command from last Wednesday to Tuesday. It rehearsed defense of the homeland operations, according to the Joint Task Force-Micronesia.
The Sling Stone used the intercept test to allow U.S. and allied forces to detect, track, and simulate engagement of the threat. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Milius and Japanese destroyer JS Haguro provided air defense coverage from the sea during the intercept test.
A U.S. Army unit operating the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Guam also received missile tracking information. The THAAD provides defense for the island to fend off short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.
The THAAD unit, which is officially designated as Task Force Talon, has been deployed to the island since 2013 in response to the North Korean ballistic missile threats.
The Aegis Guam System is part of the proposed Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) system on the island, which is claimed to be capable of providing “360-degree” protection against threats of cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missile attacks.
Besides the VLS and the Standard Missile family of interceptor missiles, the EIAMD is supported by the M903 Launcher that uses the Patriot interceptor missiles, as well as the short-range Indirect Fire Protection Capability Launcher that fires the Sidewinder missiles.
This integrated air and missile defense system, whose components will be positioned on 16 sites across Guam, is expected to start deployment in 2027 and to be fully operational by 2035.
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