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U.S. Tests Israel's Iron Dome in Guam as Defense Against Chinese Cruise Missiles
(Wall Street Journal) Alastair Gale - Israel's Iron Dome missile-defense system is being tested in Guam by U.S. military planners concerned about Chinese missiles. Guam is a U.S. territory in the Pacific that is home to 190,000 American civilians and servicemen. Its Air Force, Navy and Marines bases are 1,800 miles from China, making them the closest bases to China on American soil. Facilities on the island would be critical staging points during any conflict in the region. Iron Dome was developed in cooperation with Raytheon and designed to destroy short-range rockets and artillery up to 40 miles away - the kind of weapons Palestinians fire against Israel. Nonetheless, the system has shown some ability to intercept cruise missiles that travel below the speed of sound, such as CJ-20 missiles that the Pentagon says could threaten Guam if fired from Chinese bombers. In August, the U.S. Army destroyed eight cruise-missile surrogate targets in a test of the Iron Dome at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.