Pentagon slashes deliberate missile protection websites on Guam partly over environmental considerations

Plans to rapidly deploy an integrated missile and air defense system on Guam now call for placing interceptors and sensors at just 16 sites on the strategic Pacific island instead of the initially planned 35 locations, the Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency said.

The MDA and military services disclosed the reduced number of defense sites in a draft environmental impact statement published Oct. 25 for the program called the “Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense” (EIAMD) system.

The new defenses are a major priority for the Indo-Pacific Command, which has said the system is needed to defend Guam from growing threats posed by Chinese missiles.

A Defense Intelligence Agency report made public in mid-October said China is expanding its force of DF-26 intermediate-range missiles, which Beijing has dubbed a “Guam killer” for their 2,500-mile range.

Guam is located 1,800 miles from the China coast and is a major U.S. military hub for warships, submarines, bombers and stocks of weapons that would be called on in any future defense of Taiwan or the Philippines, both of which face rising aggression from Beijing.

The military describes the planned defenses as providing “360-degree” protection from missile and air strikes. The island currently is defended by a battery of Army’s Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system, along with Patriot missile defenses.

DOCUMENT: Proposed EIAMD System Sites on Guam

The upgrades will include a new network of THAAD, Patriot PAC-3, Navy SM-6 and SM-3 Block IIA missile interceptors, the Aegis Ashore system, along with high-technology radar and sensors.

MDA spokesman Fred Hair said the original plan identified around 35 sites on Defense Department properties and one nongovernment location that would support the components for the system. A revised siting plan cut that to 21 defense sites and one private location.

“However, after further evaluation of the sites related to environmental, access issues (i.e., non-DoD site), or operational constraints, the number of candidate sites was further narrowed to a total of 16 proposed sites,” Mr. Hair said.

Tom Mancinelli, acting Navy undersecretary, visited Guam on Oct. 17 and was shown in a Navy photograph next to an MK-41 vertical launch system.

“Guam is part of the U.S. homeland. It is physically closer to Beijing than Hawaii,” Mr. Mancinelli. “If deterrence fails, we will fight from Guam, and we will fight for Guam.”

President Biden’s fiscal 2024 budget called for an initial $1.5 billion for the defense system.

The draft statement said some of the site were eliminated based on system performance issues, questions about operational effectiveness, airspace impact, limits to existing infrastructure, force protection issues and cost-effectiveness.

The draft environmental statement is more than 7,600 pages long and addresses issues including the impact of high-powered missile defense radar on local aircraft communications and wastewater and drainage issues. It is required under federal regulations and remains open for public comment for 75 days.

The statement provides new details on the program that could begin as early as next year and will be fully operational by 2035. A deployment decision is expected in early 2025.

The statement also contains details on the locations of key military bases and facilities on the island, including a munition storage site on the southern end of the island and a training base in the middle. The defense sites now will be located on military property, including Naval Base, Guam at the southern end of the island, Anderson Air Force Base on the northern tip, and six sites in between.

A comparison of the new sites with a May 2023 site map showing 20 proposed sites reveals that planned defenses were eliminated at a naval fuel farm, a former housing unit and supply facility at the naval base, a supply depot at the Air Force base, and a civilian site at the southern end of the island.

“Guam is a key strategic location for sustaining and maintaining U.S. influence, deterring adversaries, responding to crises, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the report states. “An attack on Guam would be considered a direct attack on the U.S. and would be met with an appropriate response.”

The commander of the Indo-Pacific Command pushed for the layered air and missile defense system to counter rapidly evolving enemy missile threats, the statement says.

Around 1,000 troops and 1,300 family members are expected to be deployed with the system.

In addition to the land-based Standard Missile launchers, another central component of the EIAMD will be the land version of the Navy warship Aegis missile defense known as Aegis Ashore.

The THAAD missile defense battery and already deployed Patriot defenses, along with directed energy systems, and an Army air defense called enduring shield are expected to be part of the systems.

A new Army mid-range capability missile launcher and associated indirect fire protection capability launchers, still in the prototype phase, also could be deployed, according to Defense News.