Panel seeks study of new missile defenses for Hawaii

A congressional subcommittee wants the Pentagon to look at the feasibility of permanently assigning a Navy warship to defend Hawaii against North Korean and other long-range missile threats, along with moving a missile defense system here known as THAAD.

The steps, a first for Hawaii, come with optimism but also caution over North and South Korea’s declared goal of “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula.

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, systems are already in Guam and South Korea and are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere in their final, or terminal, phase of flight.

U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard requested similar legislative language for what would amount to extra defenses for Hawaii in addition to ground-based missile interceptors in Alaska and California.

“Given the threat we face from North Korea, it’s critical that we evaluate all available options to provide Hawaii with a multi-layered defense,” Gabbard said.

Fellow Hawaii Democrat U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa noted the proposed legislative language requires congressional briefings only on the feasibility of using THAAD and ship-based SM-3 missiles.

“Due in large part to the false missile alert which the people of Hawaii suffered through, I support these briefings so our residents and visitors can be assured our state is properly defended,” Hanabusa said. “It is through these briefings that the public will be able to learn more about the capabilities of both the SM-3 and THAAD.”

Hanabusa added that, to her knowledge, THAAD is not effective against an intercontinental-range ballistic missile.

“I have stated in the past that the protection of Hawaii from ICBMs is through the ground-based interceptors located in Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. I continue to believe this to be true,” Hanabusa said.

She added she continues to support a new and powerful radar planned for the state.

The Missile Defense Agency said $21 million was requested this fiscal year for the Homeland Defense Radar-Hawaii, with $62 million sought in 2019. The radar is expected to be operable in 2023.

The House Strategic Forces Subcommittee said Wednesday it wants the Pentagon to examine permanently assigning a Navy ship with ballistic missile shoot-down capability to the defense of Hawaii.

The report would be due by Sept. 15 and should address the technical capability and feasibility of the defensive approach, the subcommittee said.

The Navy has ships at Pearl Harbor with advanced ballistic missile defense capabilities, but most of those vessels deploy on worldwide missions. Although missile defense testing is conducted by the Hawaii-based destroyer USS John Paul Jones, none of the Pearl warships is devoted to the defense of the state.

In addition, and mindful of the “untested capability of the THAAD weapon system against long-range threats,” the subcommittee called for a Pentagon examination of permanently stationing such a battery in Hawaii, with a review of the costs and benefits of testing a THAAD interceptor against an ICBM.

That report would also be due by Sept. 15. The subcommittee released the proposals as part of what’s known as its “mark” on the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.

In addition to North Korea, the United States now factors in some threats from China and Russia in its missile defenses. “Besides purely ballistic threats, new adversary capabilities now include a range of cruise missiles and maneuvering boost-glide vehicles,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a report.

THAAD, which has eight missiles per launcher, an AN/TPY-2 radar and fire control center, was tested multiple times out of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai starting in 2007.

When North Korea announced the planned test of a long-range rocket in 2009 in the direction of Hawaii, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he had “directed the deployment” of THAAD missiles in the state.

Guam, which has a THAAD battery, is about 2,100 miles from North Korea. Hawaii is more than twice that distance at 4,660 miles.

“THAAD was not designed or intended to defend against ICBM-class threats. It has never been tested against an ICBM,” said Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association.

Much hope also is being invested in the SM-3 Block IIA missile being co-developed with Japan that is expected to have a ship- and shore-based capability to shoot down ICBMs.

The missile still is in testing.

“If proven to be effective against an ICBM, this missile could add a layer of protection, augmenting the currently deployed (ground- based defenses),” Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, the head of the Missile Defense Agency, said this month.