GAUM, 13 December 2024 (TON): Lockheed Martin and Missile Defense Agency have claimed a breakthrough on 12 December 2024. The Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh has announced that its Missile Defense Agency conducted a live intercept of a ballistic missile target from Guam. The statement said, "During the test, the Aegis Guam System intercepted an air-launched medium range ballistic missile targeted off the coast of Guam,: It said, “That integrated system fired a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA, which intercepted an air-launched medium range ballistic missile target off the coast of Guam's Andersen Air Force Base."

Media quoted MDA Director, Air Force Lieutenant General Heath Collins saying, "This is a tremendous group effort and provides a glimpse of how organizations within the have come together to defend our homeland Guam now and, in the future, we will use this to build upon and validate joint tracking architecture and integrated air and missile defense capabilities for Guam."

Earlier, Australia also declared that Australian destroyer HMAS Brisbane (DDG-41) conducted a successful first firing of an RGM-109E Tomahawk cruise missile off the US West Coast. A Vertical Launching System on Guam fired a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA that intercepted an Air-launched Medium Range Ballistic Missile target off the coast of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. The AN/TPY-6 radar tracked the target shortly after launch to intercept in the first end-to-end tracking use of the radar during a live ballistic missile flight test.

It is being speculated that that the trial is the beginning of Guam Defense System (GDS), protecting forces from any potential regional missile threats but there is a long way to reach the level for the use as part of defence system. Chinese hypersonic missiles are still a treat, which cannot be undermined. The present arsenal held by the US, UK, Australia and Japan requires a review to be capable enough to material the defence system for the Indo-Pacific Command. In the recent past Pentagon deployed two batteries of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) for interception of medium and intermediate-range ballistic missile against Israel but its performance reflected further improvement.

The United States has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Israel to provide state of art weapon system to Israel with US $3.8 billion per year through 2028. The genocide and war crimes which Israel and allies carried out since last year are unprecedented. One wonders where such missiles and defence technologies are vital to bring peace in this world but unfortunately these weapons systems are used to create a threat around the world by state sponsored terrorists.