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How the United States Protects
Itself
The United States has the ability
to effectively "seal-off" its airspace from foreign intruders
at sea and in the air. Based on unclassified sources from the General
Accounting Office, the map below illustrates real U.S. bases and
hypothetical naval deployments that can safeguard the United States
from attack.
Map may be used by other entities as long
as the source is listed as www.military.com
Legend and explanation:
The red circles indicate the approximate
combat range of the standard US air defense fighter the F-16
Falcon. Other aircraft at these bases such as the F-15
Eagle have much longer ranges. Furthermore, all U.S. aircraft
can easily be refueld in the air, thus doubling or even tripling
their effective range. (The bases shown here are listed in the General
Accounting Office's May 1994 report: GAO/NSIAD-94-76)
The dark red-and-black shading
indicates the areas that are notionally covered by these fighters
if they are refueld in the air to increase their range. This is
far in excess of the official "Air
Defense Identification Zone" or "ADIZ"
which starts 24 miles off each coast and ends approximately 60 miles
out. This zone of coverage is effectively expanded when aircraft
carriers operate their aircraft in the vicinity since carriers normally
are required to identify aircraft that approach their specific airspace.
The lighter red-and-black lines
attempt to show the estimated (and unclassified) range of U.S. Navy
ships fielding the AEGIS
air defense missile system. This system can locate and track a high
number of targets and engage them over a hundred miles out. Since
the Ticonderoga-
or Arleigh
Burke-class ships that carry the system can operate up and down
the coasts, these zones of coverage also move but in all likelihood
they "interlock" among the several vessels that can be
deployed along a coast.
Between the Air National Guard,
for whom continental air defense is its primary mission, and the
active duty forces garrisoned along both coasts, the United States
is comprehensively defended against any aerial threats approaching
from overseas.
Related
Links:
Department
of Defense Reports on Homeland Defense
The Air National
Guard
The United States Air
Force
United States Navy
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