In a bid to stay ahead of China and North Korea’s growing weapon risks, the US is upgrading Indo-Pacific basic mechanisms and developing alternative services.
According to Defense One, US Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin is urging the organization’s so-called Agile Combat Employment (ACE ) strategy, which aims to increase US military readiness in the Indo-Pacific, to improve base defense capabilities.
By empowering pilots, implementing mission control principles, and developing personalized force packages, the ACE approach aims to improve fight power forecast and resilience in a global conflict situation, including vis-à-vis China.
Resilient communications, pre-positioned equipment, scalable logistics and Joint All-domain Command and Control ( JADC2 ) support the strategy.
The technique is also intended to facilitate distributed operations, destroy adversary decision-making, and enable US forces to properly operate across multiple domains despite disputed environments.
According to the Defense One report, the plan calls for a major shift in US Air Force logistics, control structures, and functional planning, with a focus on adaptability and integration among combined forces.
Defense One mentions that the ACE approach aims to develop the US Air Force’s operating foundations, reducing dependence on a several huge airports, and calls for a combined effort with the US Army to create cost-effective air defense systems for smaller troops.
Allvin cited the urgent need for flexibility, fast deployment, and upgraded tactics like camouflage, concealment, and deception, which were made for the 21st century’s theaters.
The US Army’s scope is under the jurisdiction of certain skills, according to the Defense One record, but continuing debate ensure that the US Air Force’s requirements will be met.
Defense One points out that the collaboration also addresses non-kinetic threats like cyberattacks and electronic warfare, underscoring the multifaceted strategy required to protect US Pacific bases in an increasingly complex security environment.
Rising missile threats from China and North Korea underscore US urgency to secure its Pacific bases with advanced defenses and establish backup facilities.
According to a report from the US Congressional Research Service ( CRS ) in June 2023, US military bases in the Pacific, especially those located west of the International Date Line, are vulnerable to significant threats from China and North Korea, both of whom have increasingly advanced missile capabilities.
According to the CRS report, China’s development of conventional and nuclear-armed ballistic and hypersonic missiles poses a significant risk to US forces and infrastructure in the area.
It says that these missiles, coupled with sophisticated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( ISR ) systems, enhance China’s ability to target US bases with precision, especially those within the First and Second Island Chains, including key locations in Japan, South Korea and Guam.
Additionally, it points out that North Korea is expanding its missile arsenal, which only makes the threat to US forces worse. US efforts to strengthen Guam and expand its base in the Pacific are crucial countermeasures to these sophisticated adversarial capabilities.
Defense News reported this month that the Missile Defense Agency ( MDA ) is preparing for a crucial test later this year to deploy a first defense system designed to protect Guam from missile and air threats.
Defense News says Lieutenant General Heath Collins, MDA’s director, revealed plans to integrate a new radar, the AN/TPY-6, into a comprehensive defense architecture against rising threats from China and North Korea.
The report mentions that the radar’s first panel is headed to Guam for a December flight test and that it will monitor a target that was launched from a C-17 aircraft before being followed by an SM-3 Block IIA interceptor launch.
The Defense News report also says the AN/TPY-6 leverages Alaska’s Long-Range Discrimination Radar ( LRDR) technology, marking a collaborative effort with the US Army, which took charge of the acquisition and execution plan in 2023.
Defense News claims that this initiative makes use of the Joint Tactical Integrated Fire Control (JTIFC) standard to further MDA’s current effort to unify systems. It mentions the establishment of a combined command center, which will combine important missile defense command and control systems.
Asia Times reported in August 2023 that the US military plans to implement the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense ( EIAMD) system, comprising a network of surface-to-air interceptors, radars and other components.
The EIAMD will feature a multi-layered architecture including Aegis Ashore, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense ( THAAD), Typhon, Patriot and Enduring Shield systems, designed to protect Guam in a 360-degree arc.
This comprehensive defense configuration aims to address the difficulties brought on by sophisticated ballistic, cruise, and hypersonic missile threats. The THAAD will also be deploying the latest infrared seekers, which will improve its sensing and guidance capabilities, and also.
In order to establish a backup facility for its naval and air operations currently based in Guam, the US began a significant construction project on Tinian, an island in the Northern Mariana Islands, in June 2022, according to Asia Times.
This development, revealed through satellite images, comes amid growing concerns over Guam’s susceptibility to Chinese or North Korean missile attacks.
The strategic initiative, with an earmarked budget of US$ 162 million, includes a new aircraft taxiway and parking apron at Tinian International Airport. It is anticipated to be finished in October 2025.
Defense News reported in April 2024 that the US Air Force had awarded a$ 409 million contract to Fluor, a Texas-based engineering and construction firm, to develop those planned facilities.
The report says that the project, expected to be completed within five years, aligns with the US Indo-Pacific Command’s drive to strengthen regional deterrence capabilities.
Defense One claims that the project faces difficulties as a result of high costs and bureaucratic difficulties typical of projects involving Pacific islands.
Michael Blaser asserts in a July 2024 Proceedings article that the US ACE strategy is faced with significant difficulties as a result of advances in AI and machine learning.
Blaser points out that these technologies allow adversaries to quickly look up data from space-based sensors, potentially outpacing the US Air Force’s ability to relocate aircraft and undermining the ACE strategy.
He points out that the ACE strategy assumes that China, in particular, can fire long-range at the same time to disrupt multiple locations at once.
However, he points out that China’s People’s Liberation Army-Rocket Force ( PLA-RF ) possesses a vast missile arsenal capable of striking US military installations in the Pacific. Additionally, he says that an AI-assisted kill chain could accelerate the enemy’s targeting process, threatening ACE’s effectiveness.
Blaser advises that the US Air Force use deception tactics like camouflage, concealment, and decoy aircraft to halt enemy attacks and counteract these threats.