Photos Show US Preparing Frontline Base for China Missile War
Kadena Air Base, a United States military hub in the Western Pacific Ocean, conducted a series of exercises recently in preparation for a potential long-range missile attack by China.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Kadena Air Base, located on the island of Okinawa in Japan's southwestern waters, is the closest U.S. air base to Taiwan with a distance of 370 miles. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan and continues to intimidate the American security partner through the threat of force.
China has expanded its inventory of medium-range ballistic missiles from 1,000 to 1,300, according to the Pentagon. These missiles are capable of striking targets up to 1,864 miles away, putting U.S. military bases in Japan—one of America's treaty allies—within range.
The Hudson Institute think tank has urged the U.S. to fortify its military airfields within the range of China's missiles, in order to preserve air dominance during a potential conflict in which China could launch surprise attacks aimed at destroying U.S. aircraft on the ground.
From May 6 to 9, Kadena Air Base conducted a routine readiness exercise involving several F-35A stealth fighter jets assigned to the 355th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. The aircraft staged out of Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, which is located south of Kadena Air Base.
This deployment aimed to test the squadron's ability to rapidly deploy jets from an austere location and to practice power projection from multiple locations. Under the U.S. Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept, dispersal operations complicate enemy targeting.
The fighter jets were dispatched from their home station, Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, to Kadena Air Base last month, forming a part of the latest round of rotational deployments of U.S. fighter jets on Okinawa Island, aimed at maintaining a continuous fighter presence.
During the readiness exercise, technicians assigned to Kadena Air Base honed their rapid airfield damage recovery techniques by simulating repairs to areas destroyed by munitions.
The U.S. Air Force's 18th Wing, the host unit at Kadena Air Base, stated that the ability to conduct rapid airfield damage recovery is essential due to the base's strategic role as a vital staging location for forces to deter regional adversaries and project American air power.
An airfield damage assessment was also conducted at Kadena Air Base, with personnel on the ground and in helicopters sweeping the area, the 18th Wing said. This helps create an accurate picture of the damage and supports planning efforts to restore airfield operations.
The U.S. Air Force 18th Wing said: "The goal of [agile combat employment] is to empower units to generate sustainable airpower in any environment, adding flexibility and dexterity to capabilities ... the 18th Wing will continue to flex its enhanced operational abilities to respond to real world scenarios as the Keystone of the Pacific."
The Pentagon's Chinese military power report read: "The [People's Liberation Army Rocket Force] routinely practices live-fire strikes on mock airfields, bunkers, aircraft, and ships, indicating that the [People's Liberation Army Rocket Force] is improving its readiness for several counter intervention strike contingencies."
It remains to be seen whether other U.S. military bases in Japan—including Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, which hosts the F-35B stealth fighter aircraft—will conduct similar exercises to enhance their readiness in the face of China's significant missile threat.
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