According to a report on the website of the US Naval Academy on the 5th, as part of the ongoing us-japan“Resolute Dragon 24” bilateral joint exercises, for the first time, the United States Marine Corps has deployed the new antps -80 ground-to-air mission-oriented radar system in Yonaguni Island, the nearest island. The report specifically stressed that the island often near the Chinese navy and Air Force ships and aircraft pass by, the U. S. military move against the People’s Liberation Army’s intention is very obvious.
According to the United States Marine Corps, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-2 transport plane carried the radar to Yonaguni Island. The AN/TPS -80 is a multi-purpose radar that can provide advanced air surveillance, ground surveillance and weapons control capabilities, providing real-time situational awareness information to ground forces within a 360-degree range, according to the briefing, mainly used for identification and tracking missiles, rockets, artillery shells and fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles and other aircraft. For United States Marine Corps, the ANTPS -80 replaces five previously equipped single-function radars — the ANTPQ -46, ups -3, antps -63, ANMPQ -62 and antps -73 — to reduce costs and simplify personnel training. Northrop Grumman, the head of its land and self-defense systems division, said the radar would “Fundamentally change the ability of United States Marine Corps to detect and track targets”.
The Resolute Dragon Series is an annual bilateral exercise conducted by japanese-based III Marine Expeditionary Force and Japan Self-Defense Forces that focuses on key maritime sites for control and defence. This year’s dragon of determination 24 runs from July 28 to August 7. The United States Marine Corps said in a press release that, “The joint use of this advanced radar by United States Marine Corps and Japan Self-Defense Forces during Resolute Dragon 24 to enhance situational awareness by supporting full detection and tracking of air, land and maritime domains will significantly improve multi-domain operations and overall operational space awareness throughout the exercise.”
Notably, Resolute Dragon 24 is also the first exercise that japanese-based 12th Marine Regiment have participated in since they were reconstituted as Binhai Regiment last November. The U. S. military’s goal is to transform three marines into“Littoral regiments,” carrying out“Island guerrilla warfare” in the indo-pacific region. According to a report by the US Naval Research Institute, the United States Marine Corps “Littoral Regiment” moves faster than other forces and can respond to a wider range of threats. It could rely on light landing craft to enter pre-war preset positions, control straits and narrow waterways, and then maneuver between several islands as needed.
Yonaguni Island, 68 miles (110 miles) east of the island, is “A key area for Japanese defense of its Southwestern Islands,” the report said, “Chinese naval vessels frequently pass near the island when transiting between the East China Sea and the Philippine Sea, and Chinese military aircraft and drones have also repeatedly passed near the island on reconnaissance and surveillance missions.”. To strengthen its reconnaissance and interdiction capabilities against the Chinese navy and Air Force, the Japanese have set up a radar station and an electronic warfare unit on the Yonaguni Island, it also plans to deploy shore-based anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles on the island and other nearby islands. Reported that as part of the U. S.-japan Alliance, the U. S. also agreed to increase its military presence in the southwestern islands of Japan.