SINGAPORE: Chinese strikes on airfields will stymie US military aircraft in the Indo-Pacific region if there is a conflict, a new study says, recommending that the United States invest in cheap, uncrewed aircraft and runway repair capabilities.
The central problem, the researchers say, is that bases inside the first island chain – a collection of archipelagos running roughly from Indonesia in an arc northeast to Japan, encompassing the South China Sea and East China Sea – are in range of thousands of Chinese missiles.
If those weapons are dedicated to destroying or disabling runways, they could close airfields in Japan for a minimum of 11.7 days. Those farther away, in Guam and the Pacific Islands, could be closed for a minimum of 1.7 days.
“In practice, however, China could disrupt US combat operations for much longer by denying the United States the use of runways to conduct aerial refuelling operations,” the report states.
The report, Cratering Effects: Chinese Missile Threats to US Air Bases in the Indo-Pacific, was published on Thursday (Dec 12) by the Stimson Center, a defence and security think tank.
It recommends investing in a large number of inexpensive, uncrewed aircraft and electronic warfare to complicate Chinese strike planning; developing more crewed aircraft that can operate with short runways; developing more runway-repair and base resilience capabilities; and nurturing alliances so that friendly countries are more willing to open airfields for US use.
US Indo-Pacific Command, which oversees American forces in the region, did not respond to a request for comment.
China’s ministry of defence did not respond to a request for comment.
