The head of U.S. Pacific Command said Wednesday that he wants to put missile interceptors and new radar in Hawaii to protect against threats from North Korea.
Adm. Harry Harris, testifying to the House, said the extension of the country’s missile defense could help defend the Pacific state as Kim Jong Un’s regime continues to advance the range and effectiveness of its missile program.
“I believe the missile interceptors that we have to defend our homeland directly in Alaska and California are critical,” Harris told the Armed Services Committee. “I have suggested that we consider putting interceptors in Hawaii that defend Hawaii directly and we look at defensive Hawaii radar that improve Hawaii’s capability.” The U.S. has interceptors in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
New U.S. destroyers are also coming online to provide better defense against ballistic missiles, he said.
A current radar system in Hawaii, the mobile Sea-based X-band radar, is built on an aging oil platform and serves the region with coverage.
“We only have one of those and we use it a lot,” Harris said.
The discussion comes as the U.S. sets up a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in South Korea to defend against the North.
The Navy ordered the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group and the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan to the Korean peninsula following recent missile tests and fears of a new nuclear tests by the regime.
Harris also knocked down a report Wednesday that the Vinson group is under threat from North Korean missiles. Harris called the report misleading and said it was comparing “apples to oranges.”
The U.S. has ships stationed in the Sea of Japan that can defend against ballistic missile attacks and the strike group can easily defend against any missile in the North’s inventory, he said.
“If it flies, it will die,” Harris said, referring to airborne attacks against the aircraft carrier and the accompanying two destroyers and cruiser.
