The U.S. military is very anxious, it no longer has absolute superiority in the western Pacific, and in the face of the PLA's combat system, it is just that the first island chain cannot be defended, and even the second island chain is in danger. As a key hub in the second island chain, Guam has become a top priority, and the U.S. military has continuously improved Guam's defense system, but it is still ready to be bombed at the beginning of the war. In this situation, it is very important to find a "spare tire".
(96th Bombardment Squadron B-52H from Louisiana, rotated at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam)
According to US media reports, the US military is stepping up the construction of an airport on Palau's Angar Island and setting up an over-the-horizon early warning radar in order to turn Palau into a second Guam and serve as a backup base for Guam. The U.S. military's construction of the Angar airfield is part of its so-called "distributed operations" strategy, which requires the U.S. military to be dispersed in the region in order to reduce the effectiveness of the PLA's long-range strikes.
(The U.S. military is renovating the field airfield on the island of Angar, where the runway is already capable of allowing C-130 and other aircraft to take off and land)
Since 2010, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has developed a long-range strike capability and has become capable of striking key targets in the US military's first and second island chains. For example, the naval and air forces in the second island chain rely almost entirely on a few bases on Guam, and once the Guam base is destroyed or heavily damaged, the US military can only retreat to the Australian front.
Under these circumstances, the US military is determined to increase the number of bases, disperse combat forces and technical weapons, and avoid being wiped out by the PLA, which is a tactic based on the so-called "distributed operations" strategy, which the US military calls "flexible deployment." In accordance with the characteristics of the numerous islands and reefs in the first island chain, this tactic builds airfields on remote islands and reefs, and cooperates with the rapid logistics support system, so that the US military has more forward bases. Palau, which is not far from Guam, has been targeted, and the US military has assessed that Angar Island in the Palau archipelago is an ideal backup base.
(The U.S. military has used Palau as a backup for Guam)
From the map, Palau Angar Island, Guam, and Tiani Island form a triangle that can form a relatively tight defense system. In addition, Palau and Chinese mainland have not established diplomatic relations so far, on the contrary, they have close relations with the United States and Japan, so the US military believes that their "mass base" here is better. The U.S. military developed and built field airfields in the Palau Islands during World War II, and some continued to be used after World War II, such as Angar Island, which was retained by the U.S. Coast Guard until the 80s of the last century, and then gradually abandoned.
(The U.S. military deployed C-46 transport planes and B-25 bombers in Angar during World War II)
However, judging from the pictures released by the US military, the main foundation of the airport is still there, and it can continue to be used after renovation. It has been reported that the US C-130 transport plane has already carried out take-off and landing tests here, indicating that the airport on Angar Island has a certain capacity for use. In the future, the US military will further expand the capacity of this airport, so that it can take off and land US fighters, strategic bombers, large transport aircraft, air refueling, early warning aircraft and other main combat aircraft, so as to better support the so-called "flexible combat deployment" of the US military.
(U.S. C-130 transport plane landed at Angar Island airfield to deliver supplies)
Another important move by the U.S. military in the Palau Islands is the installation of Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar (TACMOR) to monitor movements in the South China Sea and the PLA's southern theater. According to the US military, the TACMOR radar is a skywave over-the-horizon radar, which uses atmospheric ionospheric refraction to achieve long-distance detection, and the radar is characterized by a long detection range, which can reach thousands of kilometers.
The Palau archipelago is about 2,000 kilometers from the South China Sea, from which it is possible to detect targets in the South China Sea and even in the PLA's southern theater of operations. If we want to strike Guam in wartime, we will definitely launch long-range strike weapons such as ballistic missiles, hypersonic attack missiles, and cruise missiles from the southern theater, so it is very important for the US military to obtain a continuous long-range early warning capability here, which will help improve Guam's defense capability.
(The U.S. military will build a skywave over-the-horizon radar system on Angar Island)
More importantly, the wavelength of the skywave radar is very long and has natural anti-stealth capabilities, so the skywave over-the-horizon radar is an ideal anti-stealth radar. At present, we are also developing stealth strategic bombers and stealth cruise missiles, which have strong penetration capabilities and can form a powerful deterrent to the key support points of the first and second island chains of the United States. Therefore, the US military also feels the need to build its own anti-stealth detection system, including the construction of an anti-stealth radar system, in which over-the-horizon radar occupies a key position.
Due to the large antenna array of skywave over-the-horizon radar, it is more difficult to deploy in Guam, and it is relatively much easier to deploy TACMOR radar in Palau, and it also avoids "putting all the eggs in one basket".
(U.S. soldiers repairing runways in the Palau Islands)
In the long run, the U.S. military may further strengthen its military presence in the Palau Islands, including making military bases permanent and building further air defense positions, command centers, and communications centers. First, it can share the burden of the US military in Guam, and second, it can also be used as a backup for the Guam base. At the same time, the military base in the Palau Islands can also serve as a rear support center for the Philippine U.S. military, improving the U.S. military's posture in the southern part of the island chain blockade line.
Of course, the biggest problem of the Palau Islands is that it is economically and technologically backward, the population size is limited, and it cannot provide a relatively complete logistical support capability, so it is difficult to support too large a garrison. Moreover, it is also within the range of the PLA's long-range firepower, and it is very easy to be covered by the PLA's long-range firepower in wartime, so the US military only uses this place as an emergency deployment base.
(The reconstruction of the Angar airbase has officially begun)
Proceeding from the angle of taking precautions, we still need to pay sufficient attention to these scattered emergency deployment bases of the US military, and we need to further develop and improve the space-based integrated information system, so that we can more effectively grasp the movements of the US military and judge its strategic and tactical intentions. At the same time, it will strengthen its long-range strike capability, which can effectively hit these scattered emergency deployment bases of the US military in wartime, so that they cannot play an applied role, thereby weakening the US military's operational and combat capabilities in the region.