US Air Force eyes missile defense for dispersed bases in China fight
By Stephen Losey
Thursday, Aug 22, 2024
A war with China would involve the Air Force fighting in ways it never has before, the service's leader said this week. (A1C Brianna Vetro/Air Force)
The Air Force is making progress on preparing a network of dispersed bases and airfields across the Pacific in case of a war against China, the service’s top general said Wednesday, but must do more to defend those bases against attack.
“I would feel more confident if we had a more robust active base defense” to safeguard those smaller operating locations that would be used under a concept called Agile Combat Employment, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said in a roundtable with reporters at the Pentagon. “If we’re going to need to operate from those [sites], having active defenses would certainly help against a threat of a large number of missile attacks.”
The Air Force fears that if a conflict breaks out in the Pacific, China could send barrages of missiles against the United States’ larger, more traditional regional air bases in Japan and Guam. Such attacks could seriously degrade or knock out the Air Force’s ability to launch aircraft in the Pacific.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/08/22/us-air-force-eyes-missile-defense-for-dispersed-bases-in-china-fight/
