Tag: USARPAC

With the proliferation of ballistic and cruise missiles by North Korea and China it only makes sense for the U.S. Army to respond by deploying systems in response. What is interesting about this is that the Army is using U.S. Navy missiles on their own land-based systems:

 The United States will deploy ground-based launchers capable of firing SM-6 and Tomahawk missiles in the Indo-Pacific region soon to address rising security threats, the Army Pacific commander has said. 

During his visit to South Korea, Gen. Charles Flynn said the U.S. Army has developed “long-range precision fires,” listing the SM-6 interceptor and the maritime-strike Tomahawk as missiles that could be launched from the new launch system.

It marks his first confirmation of the types of weapons systems to be fielded in the region this year. 

“That system will be deploying into the region soon. Where and when it’s going to go, I’m not going to talk about that now,” Flynn said during the interview with Yonhap News Agency at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, on Saturday.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but imagine how systems like this would rethink calcuations from the Chinese if deployed in some place like the Philippines or Okinawa.

Here is what General Brown, the US Army Pacific commander had to say about North Korea recently:

The U.S. Pacific Army commander said Wednesday North Korea is his biggest concern as the unpredictable communist nation has aggressively forged ahead with its nuclear and missile programs.

“The thing that keeps me up at night, though, the thing I worry the most about is North Korea. The most likely threat to all of us sitting here, in my opinion,” Gen. Robert Brown, commander of U.S. Army Pacific, said during a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Brown said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has conducted many more missile launches since taking power following the death of his late father in 2011 than the late leader did in his 17 years of rule. He also said the North’s leader is the only individual in the 21st century to test a nuclear weapon.

“There’s something going on there and there’s this belligerent aggressiveness,” he said.

The general highlighted the North’s unpredictability, calling its actions a “black swan.”

“I do worry about the most likely threat: North Korea, because obviously, every soldier that I lead, every individual that I am in charge of would be involved, would be there — some within hours, some are already there on the peninsula, and some would move in that direction very quickly,” Brown said.

“I have significant responsibilities. Things like: noncombatant evacuation operations on the peninsula and getting several half a million people out of there, minor and little things that are easy. Those types of challenges. I do worry about that. There’s just so many things,” he said.  [Yonhap]