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The Spread of Patriotism

April 6, 2022
The first-ever amphibious deployment of the Patriot missile system in the Philippines during the Balikatan 22 exercises. (Photo credit: U.S. Embassy in the Philippines)
On March 29, 2022, the United States deployed the Patriot missile system in the Philippines for national and coastal defense training near Northern Luzon, during Balikatan 22.  This is a historic first for the US-Philippine Alliance and showcases the strength of regional defense and deterrence capabilities against malign Chinese aggression. This is a bold and courageous move with clear strategic signals to an unbridled China that uses coercion and unlawful island seizures to advance its territorial claims across the South China Sea. Balikatan means “Shoulder-to-Shoulder”, and this exercise was the most comprehensive to date. Core elements of Balikatan represent the operationalization of the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).  Moreover, the US and the Philippines, along with our allies and partners – including Taiwan – recognize the need to strengthen security cooperation with advanced Missile Defense capabilities and within a broader missile defense architecture.

The Philippines have played a strategic role in American foreign policy objectives since the start of the last century. It provided crucial contributions to the victory in WWII and supported the United States in the Korean War, and has provided a strategic presence at the base of the first island chain in the Pacific. The Philippines were utilized as a country to stage troops and move military equipment during the Vietnam War. In the early 1990s, the United States lost that significant military presence in the country after the Filipino government decided to close the Navy base at Subic Bay and airfield at Clark Air Base, leading to a mass exodus of American troops and equipment from the country. The withdrawal of troops represented both a strategic and operational loss to the United States, forcing power projection, resources, and military presence to be postured from the second island chain at Guam, nearly 2,500 kilometers to the East of the Philippines.  

In 1998, the US and the Philippines renewed security cooperation through the agreement known as the Philippines – United States Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). This security structure has allowed the United States to conduct exercises such as Balikatan 22, which includes an amphibious exercise featuring a US Naval hovercraft deploying a Patriot missile defense system in the Philippines for coastal defense drills. This VFA has helped strengthen ties between the two countries and contributes to a greater buffer from Chinese influence in the country. It displays a reinforced level of deterrence and a commitment to the freedom of the seas as well as international law. 

The acceleration of Chinese encroachment on allied maritime zones persists across the South China Sea. Chinese vessels continue to flow freely in the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone, and Filipino ships cannot reach traditional fishing grounds at Scarborough Shoal due to Chinese intervention. On January 22, 2021, China passed the China Coast Guard (CCG) Law which empowers the CCG to exert increased authority to threaten China’s neighbors and could lead to changes in the status quo in the East and South China Seas. In March 2021, 220 Chinese vessels anchored at Whitsun Reef near the Philippines, part of the Spratly Islands, in an attempt to exercise territorial sovereignty. It is only through increased cooperation, training, presence, and trust between the US and the Philippines that these troubling trends can be arrested.

The form of “Patriot-ism” we just saw in Balikatan 22 is a core pillar of U.S. policy in the Pacific and has been so for almost three decades. The United States and South Korea have actively deployed Patriot Battalions throughout South Korea since 1994. Taiwan has also been united on cruise missile defense since 1997 when it received its first Patriot units. The recent $95 million dollar Patriot upgrades for Taiwan display the United States’ commitment to helping nations further develop their defense capabilities. Ten years later, Patriot Battalions were deployed throughout Japan starting in 2006 and over the last two decades, both South Korea and Japan have procured the Patriot weapon system for their own defense and deterrence. In July 2021 the United States Army conducted the first-ever launch of a Patriot surface-to-air missile in Australia to make clear the US commitment to its ally’s defense and to the region.

Capable of shooting down a variety of ballistic and cruise missile threats, Patriot gained notoriety after its first successful intercept against an Iraqi scud missile in January 1991 during the first Gulf War. The Patriot system has been highly sought after and is currently used by 13 other nations. U.S. Patriots were successful in defending critical assets during the 2003 Iraq invasion, and most recently the U.S. Patriots deployed in the UAE had combat intercepts on January 24, 2022. THAAD had its first combat engagement in January of this year by intercepting a ballistic missile fired by Houthi rebels towards Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE. The Patriot and THAAD defense systems are the most proven, reliable, and successful land-based missile defense systems currently deployed on land by the United States and its Allies. 

There are only 15 US Patriot Battalions in the US Army. Each Battalion has four batteries, each battery made up of multiple launchers and a radar. There are currently multiple batteries deployed right now outside of the Pacific nations and within Europe and the Middle East as well as a rapid deployment force maintained in the United States that can fly anywhere within 24 hours’ notice. All 15 Patriot battalions cannot be deployed all at once due to the troop and equipment rotation requirements that only call for a set number of batteries to be deployed at a single time with the other batteries recovering, modernizing, and preparing for the next deployment back at home station. The Patriot system has been a constant system of High Demand and Low-Density assets and the United States does not have anywhere near enough of them to defend all their forward bases under threat. 

Making the best out of the Low Density of Patriot capabilities, on March 29, 2022, the THAAD air defense system successfully intercepted a mock target using two Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors at the testing range in White Sands New Mexico. This capability has met the requirements set forth by the Joint Urgent Operational Needs Statement (JUON), is ready to deploy THAAD MSE Integration (TMI), and will complement the already deployed and operational Launch on Remote (LOR) capability, which leverages remote THAAD radar data to increase the current Patriot battlespace. These two improvements significantly increase the joint integration of THAAD and Patriot for in-depth, force-multiplying, layered defense capability in Korea that leverages THAAD and Patriot Radars and interceptors for the best sensor best shooter capability. 

A future integration upgrade that will enhance Patriot integration will come in the form of a new advanced radar. The Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) will remove the current three battery requirements needed to provide 360-degree coverage with the current Patriot system. The ability to provide 360-degree protection with only one battery will make Patriot much easier to deploy to strategic locations and will free up manpower and resources for application to additional assets of national importance. This month, and in just over two years since the contract award, the Urgent Material Release (UMR) version of LTAMDS will arrive at White Sands, where it will await the completion of the Initial operational Test and Evaluation (IOT&E) of the US Army’s new Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS), at which LTAMDS testing can begin.

This type of “Patriotism” in the Indo-Pacific resonates with free and open nation-states.  A new rotational presence of Missile Defense capabilities in the Philippines is encouraging. This represents a critical component of the US Indo-Pacific campaign that has continued to guarantee regional peace and stability for over 75 years.  As the United States advances its strategic integrated defense and deterrence architecture across the Indo-Pacific, our allies and partners are finding exquisite ways to link into that architecture.  China, Russia, and North Korea’s unconstrained missile proliferation, as well as their aggressive, malign, and unlawful actions, demand that our like-minded allies and partners draw closer within that missile defense architecture. 

Shoulder to Shoulder – Patriots to Patriots – Nations to Nations – One Team.

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