The Pacific island of Guam is one of America’s most strategically important overseas territories, holding some of the US Air Force’s most critical military assets and staging many of its most crucial operations in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
As such, Guam’s strategic positioning and prominence to US force projection make the island a prime target for key Asian adversaries such as China and North Korea. Both Beijing and Pyongyang have recently developed ballistic missile capabilities specifically to be able to reach and penetrate Guam’s defenses.
To shield Guam from these rising threats, Washington has finalized plans for an Enhanced Integrated Air and Missile Defense (EIAMD) system to protect the island. By fully converting Guam into a forward-operating base, the Pentagon can use EIAMD to combat rising threats in the Indo-Pacific while continuing to bolster its regional assets.
