Julian McBride
The Pacific island of Guam is one of America’s most strategically important overseas territories, holding some of the US Air Force’s most critical military assets and staging many of its most crucial operations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
As such, Guam’s strategic positioning and prominence to US force projection make the island a prime target for key Asian adversaries such as China and North Korea. Both Beijing and Pyongyang have recently developed ballistic missile capabilities specifically to be able to reach and penetrate Guam’s defenses.
To shield Guam from these rising threats, Washington has finalized plans for an Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) system to protect the island. By fully converting Guam into a forward-operating base, the Pentagon can use EIAMD to combat rising threats in the Indo-Pacific while continuing to bolster its regional assets.
The EIAMD is built to serve as a multi-layered air defense system. Plans for better fortifying Guam have been ongoing since at least August 2022, when the US Missile Defense Agency’s (MDA) top leadership provided details of upgrades to protect the island’s forward assets.
Under the plan, Guam will be covered by a 360-layered EIAMD, with 16 locations on the island used for various batteries and interceptors. Both the US Army and MDA were awarded the contract to develop and deploy the US$8 billion EIAMD to Guam.
The Aegis, Standard Missile 3 and six missile interceptors (SM-3 & SM-6) will reportedly be incorporated into the system.
Along with various missile interceptors, the Pentagon is considering deploying six radar systems to help track and plot ballistic missile interceptions. According to the Arms Control Association, EIAMD’s implementation will require 400 construction contractors and an additional 2,300 permanent and civilian personnel to operate the system.
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