U.S. Tests Iron Dome in Guam as a China Shield

"Israel has used it to intercept thousands of Palestinian rockets and mortars. Now the Iron Dome missile-defense system is being tested in Guam by U.S. military planners concerned about possible Chinese attacks.

The dome can protect only against limited types of missiles, and the U.S. is pursuing separate plans to beef up defenses against Chinese ballistic missiles that descend from space. Still, the Iron Dome test points to the wide range of U.S. hardware heading to the Asia-Pacific region as the Pentagon addresses a Chinese buildup that it has called its No. 1 challenge.

"If we can't defend Guam -- the air base and the other things there -- it's really hard to project power into the Pacific," said Tom Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank.

Guam is a U.S. territory in the Pacific that is home to about 190,000 American civilians and servicemen. Its Air Force, Navy and Marines bases are roughly 1,800 miles from China, making them the closest bases to China on U.S. soil.

Beijing in August tested a missile with a hypersonic warhead that could use a less predictable flight path to evade defenses after descending from space, including those on Guam.

China also boasts a growing fleet of bombers capable of launching sea-skimming cruise missiles that could reach Guam. That is where the Iron Dome comes in.

The dome was developed by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. in cooperation with Raytheon Technologies Corp. and designed to destroy short-range rockets and artillery up to 40 miles away -- the kind of weapons Palestinians fire against Israel.

Congress ordered the purchase of two Iron Dome systems for about $373 million in 2019, and said one should be deployed in an operational theater by this fiscal year.

 

Cruise missiles are a harder target than Palestinian rockets because they fly on flat, direct paths that are more difficult for missile-defense radars to pick up, and some travel at far greater speeds.

 

"Iron Dome is very much an interim solution" and wouldn't be effective against threats from the fastest cruise missiles, Mr. Karako said.

 

Nonetheless, the dome has shown some ability to intercept cruise missiles that travel below the speed of sound, such as CJ-20 missiles that the Pentagon says could threaten Guam if fired from Chinese bombers.

 

U.S. military leaders are seeking around $200 million to add other technology to guard Guam from ballistic missiles, such as a land-based version of the Aegis missile-defense system more commonly used on ships. They argue that facilities on the island would be critical staging points during any conflict in the region." [1]

1. World News: U.S. Tests Iron Dome in Guam as a China Shield
Gale, Alastair.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 10 Nov 2021: A.11.