Guam is set to get a major capability boost.
The U.S. Navy is on its way to deploying the MQ-4C to Andersen Air Force Base on Guam and
will likely be used to monitor shipping across much of the vast Pacific Ocean.
The deployment comes at a time of growing tensions between the United States and
China over the South China Sea and Taiwan. China has been militarizing the area with the
installation of a large number of long-range surveillance radar and air defense systems.
In this video Defense Updates reports why the deployment of MQ-4C Tritons to Guam is a key move?
Let's get started.
Since it became an American
territory in 1898, Guam has been considered a vital asset by Washington.
It lies in the Pacific east of the Philippines.
Its proximity to China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula hand the US
a launching pad into Asia and as such, it has been built up into a military fortress.
The US runs a naval base and Coast Guard station in the south of the island,
as well as an air force base in the north, which was regularly used during the Vietnam War.
Guam is one of the important pieces in this larger game since it is pretty close to China
and is expected to play a major role in case a conflict breaks out in the region.
Adm. Phil Davidson had earlier told the Senate Armed Services Committee that
the island needs protection as the home of 170,000 U.S. citizens and service members,
a deepwater strategic port, fuel and munition stores and an airfield used to project U.S. power.
Guam would be key to responding to any conflict in the Asia-Pacific region.
Davidson said, “Guam is a target today. It
needs to be defended, and it needs to be prepared for the threats that will come in the future,”
He added later: “China’s own Air Force has put out a propaganda video showing their H-6 bomber
force attacking Andersen Air Force Base at Guam and distributed that quite publicly.”
While the threat from traditional warfare is
present, the base may also have to deal with asymmetric tactics.
In this context, it is to be noted that multiple incursions
by unidentified small drones occurred in 2019. Personnel manning guard towers in the base noted
that the drones seem to have tried to inspect the U.S. Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense
(THAAD) battery that is tasked with defending the island from ballistic missile attacks.
The
Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is an American high-altitude long endurance unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) under development for the United States Navy as a surveillance aircraft.
Together with its associated ground control station, it is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
Developed under the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) program,
the system is intended to provide real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance
missions (ISR) over vast ocean and coastal regions, continuous maritime surveillance,
conduct search and rescue missions, and complement the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft
The MQ-4C Triton was developed by Northrop Grumman, one of the world’s
most prominent developers of heavy military drones
It is an advanced long-range surveillance platform for the United States and a number of its allies.
The platform’s weight of 14,628 kg or 32,350 lbs matches that of Northrop’s
RQ-4 Global Hawk and makes it one of the world’s two largest and heaviest
unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in military use.
Triton builds on elements of the RQ-4 Global Hawk; changes include reinforcements to the
airframe and wing, de-icing systems, and lightning protection systems.
One thing the Triton is designed to do (that the Global Hawk cannot) is
rapidly descend to lower altitudes. At low altitude, the Triton would use
its Raytheon MTS-B multi-spectral EO/IR sensor (also used on the MQ-9 Reaper) which is equipped
with an additional laser designator, pointer, and range-finding abilities capable of automatically
tracking what the MFAS detects. The optical suite can stream live video to ground forces.
The platform’s long-range, 30-hour endurance, and ability to operate at 18,000-meter altitudes,
well above commercial airliners and most fighter aircraft, make it an ideal surveillance platform
Chinese Military is expanding at a rapid pace and its maneuvers in the
region need serious monitoring so that it can't
pull out a surprise move [add] This is where Triton comes in
The specific task that Triton could be used for is outlined.
U.S. military Mike Mackey, Northrop Gumman’s Triton UAS program director,
stated, regarding its use, “During surveillance missions using Triton, Navy operators may spot
a target of interest and order the aircraft to a lower altitude to make a positive identification.
The wing’s strength allows the aircraft to safely descend,
sometimes through weather patterns, to complete this manoeuvre.”
U.S. Navy Captain Dan Mackin stated regarding another reason for the military’s deployment
of the Triton to the Pacific: “One of the main reasons that the Navy decided to fund Triton was
to have that teaming arrangement, to be able to communicate back and forth between P-8s ( Poseidon
submarine hunters) and the Triton aircraft. One of the things we’ll do is pass information back and
forth between the two aircraft and the situational awareness of the fleet will be enhanced.
Both aircraft have the ability to do chat, so both crews will be able to communicate back and forth.”
It is evident that the large drone’s ability to link maritime target data
collected by its electro-optical sensors back to ground data centers on Guam,
Hawaii and elsewhere could thus make it a crucial asset.