The small island of Shemya in Alaska may become a primary target in the conflict between the United States and an equally powerful enemy - such as China and Russia. The other day, the American special operations forces conducted a training to protect the island. Although in the event of the beginning of the Third World, special forces are unlikely to help.
Part of the Aleutian Archipelago, the island is one of the most remote geographical features from the mainland of the United States, it is located approximately in the middle between Alaska and Kamchatka. It houses a powerful AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane radar of the American missile attack warning system - it has recently been upgraded - and a strategic airfield with a three-kilometer runway capable of receiving all types of aircraft.
Shemya acquired great importance during the Cold War. In addition to the anti-missile radar and the electronic intelligence center, there were constantly specialized RC-135 Cobra Ball spy planes to intercept the telemetry of Soviet ballistic missiles flying to the Kamchatka Kura test site. Then the international situation was somewhat relieved and Shemya was more often mentioned as an airfield for emergency landing of passenger liners flying across the ocean on northern routes. But now everything is changing rapidly again in the era of "great power competition".
Given the location of the island and the strategic importance of its facilities, Shemya may become the primary target of these greatest powers in an armed conflict. Moreover, these threats can range from a massive strike with ballistic and cruise missiles to the landing of special forces - if they want to capture the island with its equipment intact.
During the exercises, "Green Berets" were deployed on the island - they patrolled the shores on the MRZR buggy and scanned the sky through the sights of the Stinger MANPADS. The maneuvers on Shemya are another sign that the United States is strengthening its defensive positions in the Pacific, writes The Drive.
Anton Valagin
