By Chang Dong-woo
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) — The U.S. Military has activated an air protection battalion in Guam to bolster the island’s defenses in opposition to regional missile threats, together with these posed by North Korea and China, a U.S. army information outlet reported Friday.
The third Battalion, forty third Air Protection Artillery Regiment, held an activation ceremony on Oct. 16 at Andersen Air Power Base in Guam and can assume the air protection duties beforehand carried out by Process Power Talon, in keeping with USNI Information.
Process Power Talon started its rotational mission in 2013 to counter potential North Korean ballistic missile threats, however its duties have since expanded amid China’s rising missile capabilities, the report mentioned.
The newly activated battalion is predicted to function Patriot, Terminal Excessive Altitude Space Protection (THAAD) and Intermediate Fires Safety Functionality (IFPC) methods as a part of a layered protection community in opposition to ballistic and cruise missiles, plane and drones.
“Guam’s strategic location makes it an necessary a part of U.S. army operations all through the area by supporting joint pressure operations whereas making air and missile protection a vital a part of defending the forces and infrastructure wanted to assist these missions,” the Military advised USNI Information.
In accordance with the Military, the transition from a rotational job pressure to a battalion displays the Pentagon’s dedication to establishing everlasting air protection capabilities within the Indo-Pacific.
Guam, a strategically necessary U.S. territory within the western Pacific, at present depends on THAAD launchers and U.S. Navy Aegis-equipped warships on an as-needed foundation for air and missile protection, in keeping with the report.
This file photograph reveals a U.S. THAAD battery in Seongju, South Korea, on Might 19, 2017. The photograph is unrelated to the usair protection battalion in Guam. (Yonhap)
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