HOW POWERFUL US FORCES IN GUAM IS & WHY ATTACK ON IT WILL BE VERY COSTLY FOR NORTH KOREA?

INTRODUCTION: President Trump's threat to strike North Korea with "fire and fury" has prompted Pyongyang to claim it is "carefully examining" a plan to hit Guam with missiles. Since it became an American territory in 1898, Guam has been considered a vital asset by Washington. It lies in the Pacific east of the Philippines and around 1,700 miles south of North Korea. Its proximity to China, Japan and the Korean Peninsula hand the US a launching pad into Asia and as such it has been built up into a military fortress. In this video, Defense Updates look at HOW POWERFUL US FORCES IN GUAM IS AND PROVIDES 5 REASONS WHY ATTACK ON IT WILL BE VERY COSTLY FOR NORTH KOREA? THOUGHTFULLY BUILD UP The US runs a naval base and Coast Guard station in the south of the island, as well as an air force base in the north, which was regularly used during the Vietnam War. So Guam is protected both ways. Based at the stations are around 7,000 US troops. VIRGINIA CLASS SUBMARINES & ARLEIGH BURKE DESTROYERS Naval Base Guam is the homeport for 4 nuclear-powered fast attack submarines and two submarine support vessels. The Virginia class, also known as the SSN-774 class, is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines. The submarines are designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral (shallow coastal water) missions. Virginia class is designed to take out enemy surface vessels; submarines as well can strike ground targets. For Anti ship role it is equipped with Harpoon missile, for anti submarine role it has Mk 48 torpedoes and for land attacks, it has Tomahawk cruise missiles. The hard to detect and very versatile submarine could be the one to land the initial punches. The Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers is the United States Navy's first class of destroyer built around the Aegis Combat System. Aegis BMD-equipped vessels can transmit their target detection information to other systems and, if needed, engage potential threats using either the SM-2 or SM-3 missile. AIRWING Guam is referred to by US commanders as a “permanent aircraft carrier”. There is a good reason for it. It is home to F 16, F18 fighter jets as well as B 52 bombers. The F 16 & F 18 fighters though being 4th generations fighters, are equipped with excellent weapons and are flown by highly trained and experienced pilots. The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. The Air Force has also deployed B1B Lancer to the base starting Aug 6th. B1B has a massive payload of 125,000 lb (56,700 kg) internal and external ordnance combined. The supersonic bomber is designed for deploying conventional as well as nuclear bombs. The B 52 & B1B with F 16 or F 18 fighter escorts are capable for quick and massive damage to North Korea. THAAD In 2013, the US Army's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system was deployed to the island - giving Washington the power to shoot down North Korean ballistic missiles. THAAD is designed to shoot down short, medium, and intermediate range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. It uses a hit-to-kill approach that is the missile carries no warhead, but relies on the kinetic energy of impact to destroy the incoming missile. The system has an operational range of around 200 km with a speed of 8.24 Mach. It is ideally suited to take out North Korean missiles. OHIO CLASS With rhetoric getting higher and higher, it is safe of assume that US has deployed 1 or 2 OHIO class submarines in close vicinity of the Guam. The Ohio class is a class of nuclear-powered submarines that is considered to be one of the most lethal platforms in the world. The U S navy has 18 Ohio-class submarines: 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and 4 that were later converted to guided missile submarines (SSGN). The 14 Ballistic Missile Submarines of Ohio class together carry approximately 50% of the total US active inventory of strategic thermonuclear warheads. The Ohio-class submarines are the largest submarines ever built for the U S Navy having a displacement of 16764 tons. Each carries 24 Trident Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles that have a range of 1100 km Each of these missiles has 12 MIRV (Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle) nuclear warheads, and each of these warheads have explosive power equivalent of 300 to 475 kilo tones of TNT. CONCLUSION As inferred from the above points, Guam is capable enough in itself to thwart any North Korean attack as well as respond with massive firepower. Nonetheless, it will have solid backing from US forces stationed in Japan, The Seventh Fleet as well forces deployed in South Korea. In any war surprise is the key, and North Korea has given it way; Guam will be more ready than ever. An attack at this stage on Guam will be very costly and lead to enormous retaliation.