Chinese Dong Feng 26 intermediate-range ballistic missiles roll past Tiananmen Gate during a Sept. 2015 military parade in Beijing, China.
REUTERS file photo
HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — China commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and its victory over Japan in a massive military parade Wednesday at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
As expected, China’s updated weaponry, which included a new version of the so-called “Guam Killer” missile, the Dong Feng 26D, was on full display during the event.
The DF26D was so-named for its strike capability as far away as Guam and other potential sites along the second island chain.
Former Delegate Robert Underwood, chair of the Guam-based think tank the Pacific Center for Island Security, or PCIS, said, “We are now at the onset of a new arms race in which better missiles require more sophisticated defenses, which in turn prompts the development of even better multiple systems to attack.”
“There is no winner, but in this defense of Guam, the people of the island will be the clear losers in case of conflict,” he added.
PCIS Director Leland Bettis said the new, redesigned DF26D is reported to have capabilities that will allow it to evade the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense, Aegis and Patriot anti-missile systems. A THAAD system is currently deployed to Guam to counter ballistic missile threats.
“It is also important to note that the missile that has been designed to target Guam is both conventional and nuclear capable,” Bettis said.
He adds that it may also serve as a launch platform for hypersonic glide vehicles, which the U.S. currently has no defeat system for. That, in addition to new guidance systems, active radar seekers and electronic warfare countermeasures for the DF26D, are all meant to thwart U.S. defenses.
Bettis said the proposed 360-degree anti-missile system planned for Guam was “already behind the curve before this latest display of next-generation technology from China.”
“First, it is important to note that the Integrated Air and Missile Defense of Guam, or IAMDOG system, that the U.S. military is planning for Guam is more than just about long-range missiles,” Bettis said.
He said the IAMDOG is also being designed to repel weapons launched between the Philippines and Guam, such as air-launched hypersonic missiles, air- and sea-launched cruise missiles, aircraft, and even drones.
“The range of new weapons in these categories that were on display today in Beijing just upped the stakes in the missile arms race,” Bettis said.
He said new anti-missile technology being tested on Guam last month to replace existing Patriot radar has shown some promise but is not yet proven. “We are in the early stages of this arms race,” Bettis said.
He said the Missile Defense Agency, which is leading the way for Guam’s system, will be constantly rethinking the island’s defense.
“How any system responds to a saturation attack — as has been seen in both Ukraine and the 12-day conflict against Iran — shows the limits of anti-missile systems,” Bettis said.
PCIS has said the U.S. government also needs to be serious about civilian security and focus on such things as shelters and food security.
Bettis believes that ultimately there is no foolproof missile defense system. Therefore, “removing Guam from the U.S.-China conflict sacrifice zone should be our top priority,” he said.
