The Patriot Files Forums  

Go Back   The Patriot Files Forums > Military News > DoD

Post New Thread  Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 07-23-2020, 10:48 AM
Boats's Avatar
Boats Boats is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sauk Village, IL
Posts: 21,784
Arrow Pacific Commander Wants Missile Defense System on Guam to Counter Growing Threat From

Pacific Commander Wants Missile Defense System on Guam to Counter Growing Threat From China
By: Tom Ozimek - The Epoch Times News - 07-23-30
Re: https://www.theepochtimes.com/pacifi...a_3435537.html

The head of America’s Indo-Pacific Command said he hopes to have an active missile defense system deployed on Guam by 2026 to counter the rising capability of regional rivals.

Admiral Phil Davidson told reporters in a July 21 call with media that his top priority is to get an Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system on the Pacific island as part of a concept he called “Homeland Defense System Guam.”

He said the Aegis Ashore system, which is derived from a ship-based system, would work in tandem with the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system already deployed on the island to provide a more robust defense capability against China’s growing military threat.

“When you look at the way the threat capability, the threat capacity is manifesting from China in the future, whether it’s ballistic missiles from the land, or whether it’s ballistic or cruise missiles from air and maritime platforms, you’re going to need a complete clock. A 360-degree coverage in order to help defend Guam,” he said.

“I will say that my number one priority and the most important action we can take to rapidly and fully implement the National Defense Strategy, the first step is a 360-degree persistent and integrated air-defense capability in Guam,” Davidson added.

Lance Gatling, an aerospace and weapons analyst, told the South China Morning Post that the strategic location of Guam makes it a target of choice for America’s regional rivals in the event of an outbreak of hostilities.

“Guam has long been a key staging point for the U.S., in both naval and air operations, and it was from there that long-range bombers operated against targets during the Vietnam war,” Gatling told the publication. “It is going to become even more important as the U.S. Marines move more of their personnel from Okinawa to Guam.”

Davidson said on the call that for the missile defense system to be in place within the time frame he outlined, funding must begin in fiscal year 2021.

In April, Breaking Defense reported on details of an unclassified executive summary of a National Defense Authorization Act titled “Regain the Advantage” (pdf) that Davidson submitted to Congress, in which he called for $20 billion in new investments by 2026 to enhance America’s operational capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Regain the Advantage is designed to persuade potential adversaries that any preemptive military action will be extremely costly and likely fail by projecting credible combat power at the time of crisis, and provides the President and Secretary of Defense with several flexible deterrent options to include full OPLAN [operation plan] execution, if it becomes necessary,” Davidson wrote in the document.

One of the line items is titled “Homeland Defense System – Guam” and it calls for $77 million in fiscal year 2021 and $1.594 billion in fiscal years 2022-2026. In the document, Davidson did not specify what type of defense infrastructure the system would entail, but in Tuesday’s remarks to reporters, he made it clear he wants the Aegis system, which is developed by Lockheed Martin.

“The backbone of Homeland Defense System Guam would be the baseline 10 Aegis Ashore system,” Davidson said. “The reason I’m a key advocate for that is first, it is technology that is available to us now and could be delivered by 2026 when I believe that the threat will require us to have a much more robust capability than the combination of THAAD, which is deployed there now and an Aegis ship in response can provide.”

Davidson wrote in the executive summary that the combination of THAAD and Aegis was key to defending what he called America’s “most important operating location in the Western Pacific.”
__________________
Boats

O Almighty Lord God, who neither slumberest nor sleepest; Protect and assist, we beseech thee, all those who at home or abroad, by land, by sea, or in the air, are serving this country, that they, being armed with thy defence, may be preserved evermore in all perils; and being filled with wisdom and girded with strength, may do their duty to thy honour and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"IN GOD WE TRUST"
sendpm.gif Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:48 AM.


Powered by vBulletin, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.