US testing its version of Israel’s Iron Dome in Guam against Chinese missiles: Report

11/10

The U.S. military is using the Iron Dome missile defense system, which Israel uses, in Guam in tests to strengthen security against Chinese missiles, according to a new report.


The dome can only defend against certain types of missiles and would not be effective at stopping a hypersonic missile, though the test “points to the wide range of U.S. hardware heading to the Asia-Pacific region,” the Wall Street Journal reported.



Guam is home to the closest U.S. military base on American soil to China, housing roughly 190,000 American civilians and servicemen.

China could target the island, which is roughly 1,800 missiles away, with a sea-skimming cruise missile, which is where the Iron Dome would come into play. Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. and Raytheon Technologies developed Israel’s Iron Dome, and it’s designed to defend short-range rockets, the kind that Palestinian militants fire into the country.

Military officials have been hesitant about deploying their Iron Dome defense systems, pointing to difficulties with their use along with other missile defense systems, while others have argued that South Korea would be a more apt place to deploy the technology given its border and relationship with North Korea.

The Iron Dome would not be particularly successful in defending against hypersonic missiles, which China tested over the summer in a surprise to U.S. officials.

News of the test comes as the Department of Defense has shifted its attention to the Asia-Pacific region after it was reported that China tested “a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile” that “circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capabilities that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise,” according to the Financial Times.



Both Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. John Hyten, the outgoing vice chairman, have stressed the significance of the test, with the former referring to it as nearly a "Sputnik moment," even though Chinese government officials denied the test was what it was reported to be.

A recent Pentagon report laid out the Chinese military's recent advancement, saying that the military seeks to achieve “‘the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’ by 2049 or surpass U.S. global influence and power, displace U.S. alliances and security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, and revise the international order to be more advantageous to Beijing’s authoritarian system and national interests."