Revised Guam missile defense plan reduces network sites by 6

Parts of Naval Base Guam can be seen from the air on March 15, 2018. (Stacy Laseter/US Navy)

A missile defense system proposed for Guam has been reduced from 22 to 16 locations based on public input and other factors, according to a draft environmental impact statement released Friday.

The Missile Defense Agency detailed in the statement its latest assessment of the project, the Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense System.

The report released Friday identified 22 locations: 21 on Defense Department property and one on private property.

These were reduced to 16 sites following a public comment period in the summer and a review of environmental concerns, access, operational limitations and cost-effectiveness, among other things, the statement said.

The impact statement does not explain why the six other locations were eliminated.

All 16 potential sites are located on the island’s three major military installations: eight at Naval Base Guam, six at Andersen Air Force Base and two at Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz.

A site near Camp Blaz and another near Naval Base Guam’s Nimitz Hill have private property within their “Explosives Safety Quantity Distance,” meaning public access must be controlled by a restrictive easement or agreement with the landowners, according to the declaration.

The project proposes to modify and restrict the airspace around the island to minimize conflict.

The system is designed as a comprehensive network of sites capable of “defending all of Guam against rapidly evolving threats from advanced cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile attacks from regional adversaries,” according to the impact statement.

“Guam is a key strategic location for supporting and sustaining U.S. influence, deterring adversaries, responding to crises, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the document said. “An attack on Guam would be considered a direct attack on the United States and would be met with an appropriate response.”

The document will be open for public review and comment for 75 days until January 8.

Three public meetings on the draft environmental impact statement are also planned next month, on consecutive evenings, the first on November 13 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Hagat Mayor’s Office Community Center, Building 393, Route 2 Hagat.

The second is scheduled for November 14 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the Hilton Guam Resort, Micronesian Room 202, Hilton Road, Tumon Bay.

The final public meeting is scheduled for November 15 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Dededo Senior Center, 319 Iglesia Circle, Dededo.

After the public comment period, construction on the sites could begin next year and be completed in about a decade, according to the document.

Three to five sites would be built annually, with site preparation taking up to twelve months per site. Peak construction would take place between 2028 and 2030.

According to the document, the sites would be remotely integrated into the missile defense system and controlled through a command center in Andersen.

The missile agency also plans up to two live-fire missile tests per year for a decade, with tests beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025.

The tests include a land-based system at Andersen that tracks a target launched from an aircraft and then fires an SM-3 interceptor missile from Andersen’s Northwest Field.