Defense News
American air bases “can no longer be considered a sanctuary.” That is the sobering conclusion of the U.S. Air Force’s new Installation Infrastructure Action Plan, released in December.
Unlike the last 30 years, when U.S air bases were largely safe havens from enemy attacks, the document continues, “adversaries now possess high-end capabilities” that can threaten such installations.
This warning is correct, but it understates the threat.
In our new Stimson Center report, “Cratering Effects: Chinese Missile Threats to US Air Bases in the Indo-Pacific,” and co-authored with Jonathan Walker, we conclude that Chinese missile strikes could keep U.S. military runways and taxiways in Japan, Guam, and other Pacific islands closed in the critical first days — and even weeks — of a war between the United States and China.
