The United States military is finalizing repair works on a World War II airfield, located on a remote island in the Western Pacific Ocean, for a future fight, satellite imagery shows.
The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why It Matters
The island of Tinian is part of the Northern Mariana Islands that make up the westernmost U.S. frontier. The Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, a major U.S. military hub located some 100 miles to the south, form part of the second island chain, a U.S. defense concept that seeks to contain America's adversaries such as China in the Western Pacific Ocean.
The reclamation of North Field, one of the two World War II airfields on Tinian that sent two bombers toward Japan in August 1945 for the first wartime use of nuclear weapons, comes as China expanded its medium-range ballistic missile fleet, threatening U.S. bases within the first island chain, a blockade formed by Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
What To Know
According to two satellite photographs captured nearly one year apart, the four 8,500-foot-long runways of North Field, as well as their associated taxiways, were visible in an image taken on January 26 as they have almost completely restored and cleared of overgrowth.
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The U.S. Air Force 36th Wing, which is the host unit at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam, said on Monday that in collaboration with the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force is rehabilitating North Field to become fully operational.
"The purpose of the partnership was to finalize repairs on North Field's runways, taxiways, and aprons to restore the airfield's operational capacity," said the 36th Wing, adding that this project, started in the 2000s, aimed to expand U.S. impact on the Indo-Pacific region.
The project's precise completion date is unknown. Last April, an engineering company based in Irving, Texas, said it had been awarded a $409 million contract for "pavement and transportation support" in North Field, with scheduled completion in five years.
The U.S. Pacific Air Forces told Newsweek last September the upgraded and expanded North Field, which covers 20 million square feet of runway, taxiways, and parking aprons, will increase the airfield's capacity to handle both "routine and contingency operations."
The airfield rehabilitation is being performed under Agile Combat Employment, an operational concept that aims to complicate enemy targeting by dispersing forces into smaller groups. Tinian will come in handy if access to Andersen Air Force Base is limited or unavailable.
What People Are Saying
U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Martin Spain, senior enlisted leader of the 513th Expeditionary Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operations Repair Squadron Engineers Squadron, said in a press release on Monday: "[North Field] once served as the busiest airfield in the world. The road paving efforts we're working on are essential—not just for our mission, but for the local ranchers and residents who rely on these routes daily."
Specialist outlet The War Zone wrote in an article on February 19: "North Field is one of a number of other airfields being readied in the Western Pacific for combat aircraft to operate out of should a war with China erupt, and it appears to be the largest by a good margin."
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen how the U.S. military will protect North Field when it becomes a fully operational airfield. A Hudson Institute's report warned that America's military airfields in the Western Pacific Ocean are facing the threat of severe Chinese attacks.
English (US) ·