Security institute says Guam missile defense is more trouble than it’s worth
- Admin
- Jul 28
- 3 min read
Pacific Center for Island Security hits EIS for ‘promoting a false sense of security’
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
A regional think tank today cast doubt on the proposed missile defense system's capability to provide adequate protection for Guam, flagging the technology's
limitations that were thinly veiled in the final environmental impact statement.
The Guam-based Pacific Center for Island Security challenged the credence of the Department of Defense's impact statement for the enhanced integrated air and missile defense system being developed by the Missile Defense Agency for Guam to counter China's threats.
The center noted that the missile defense architecture, while touted to “deter adversaries from attacking the island,” is actually designed only “to manage small-scale coercive attacks."
“The EIS is best characterized as promoting an uncertain, if not false, sense of security,” said Robert Underwood, chairman of the PCIS.
The MDA’s project consists of mobile components including missile defense radars, sensors, missile launchers, missile interceptors, and command and control systems, which will be strategically located and integrated across 16 sites throughout the island.
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“This proposal would introduce a new level of weaponization to our community,
while offering minimal benefits in terms of increased security,” Underwood said.
The center noted that the missile defense system’s capability “falls short of addressing a complex saturation attack from a peer adversary.”
It added that the development of alternate airfields and backup infrastructure in Yap, Tinian and Palau “underscores the known limits” of the proposed missile defense system on Guam."
Underwood said the impact statement “overstates the effectiveness of the technology” while overlooking “the significant impact it will have on the people of Guam,” such as the housing crisis and the degradation of native habitat.
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“It offers a militarized technological solution to complex strategic, diplomatic, and economic challenges, while the people of Guam are offered a frontline seat to conflict with no regard for their concerns over housing, environmental degradation, or personal safety,” he added.
The release of the final impact statement was preceded by "years of data gathering, analysis, stakeholder engagement and public involvement," the defense department said.
The 75-day comment period for the draft EIS, which began on Oct. 25, 2024 and ended on Jan. 8, netted over a hundred submissions.
The record of decision, which will signal the project’s launch, is anticipated to be released next month.
The center also raised concerns about the project’s duration.
According to the impact statement, the project’s completion is expected to span over 10 years—only then will it be fully operational.
The PCIS said the decade-long project execution “raises questions about technology deprecation and system effectiveness when complete.”
“Development and production of the AN/TPY-6 radar (brought to Guam for the staged Guam flight) has been cancelled,” the center said. “ The Sentinel A4, initially projected to be delivered in late 2022, has recently had full-rate production delayed until mid-2026."
While billions of dollars will be invested in the architecture, the PCIS pointed out that the U.S. government has skipped discussions on the need for safety shelters.
“The EIS does not evaluate the impact of conditions under which the missile defense system would be used,” the center said. “The EIS “only analyzes peacetime operations; operations related to launch situations were not addressed because these activities are considered to be an act of war, and outside normal operations.”
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