The US Air Force has determined that dispersing its aircraft to multiple facilities is a better strategy than placing them all in one hardened shelter.

The US Pacific island territory of Guam remains on the frontlines for a potential conflict with China, with a vast US military presence. Andersen Air Force Base (AFB) is one of the largest US airbases in the Pacific, and is equipped to handle the immense operational needs of the B-2 Spirit, America’s premier strategic stealth bomber.

It may seem strange, then, that current plans don’t call for the building of any permanent concrete bunkers for the Air Force’s fleet of long-range strategic bombers.

That option has been considered before; indeed, the Air Force built hard concrete storage facilities, known informally as “igloos,” for munitions storage at the base. However, for aircraft the Air Force appears intent on dispersion rather than additional fortification. Earlier this year, it issued a contract award to expand the aircraft “apron” at the key base on the US overseas territory.

The massive 20-acre concrete apron project located on the base’s northwest side was designed to support the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) mobility strategy, an operational scheme of maneuver designed to increase the survivability of air forces by dispersing aircraft, personnel, and equipment across numerous forward operating locations. The effort builds on a 2014 upgrade that expanded the aircraft parking apron to support the MV-22 Osprey, along with an upgrade to the old parking aprons at Northwest Field in 2019.

About the US Military Base on Guam

Guam is an unincorporated US territory located roughly 3,800 miles to the west of Hawaii and 1,550 miles east of the Philippines. It has a population of around 170,000.

The island was a colonial possession of Spain from the mid-1500s until 1898, when the US Navy conquered it during the Spanish-American War. The Treaty of Paris ceded the island to the United States in December 1898, and the US has controlled it since, interrupted only by Japanese occupation from December 1941 to July 1944. After it reconquered the island, the US established Andersen Air Force Base in late 1944.

Then and now, Guam occupies a vital strategic location in the Indo-Pacific. During World War II, US bombers stationed on Guam could reach the Japanese mainland, and the island’s liberation marked the beginning of America’s strategic bombing campaign against Japan. Today, the island remains a critical forward base for military operations and further serves as a deterrent against potential threats, notably from China.

There are currently around 21,000 US military personnel and their families stationed on Guam, including at the US Marine Corps Camp Blaz, which was officially activated in October 2020 and opened in January 2023—becoming the first new USMC base to be activated since 1952. 

Although the US Air Force does not station aircraft on Guam on a full-time basis, the island is equipped to support them. Indeed, US bombers regularly operate from the island on Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions, although the schedule for these missions is deliberately kept obscure. Past BTF deployments to Guam have included B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit, and B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers.

How Will Guam Protect Its Aircraft Now?

Instead of concrete bunkers, the service is relying on a strategy of dispersion. Rather than concentrating aircraft in fixed (and potentially vulnerable) structures, it is building an enormous 20-acre concrete apron from which aircraft can freely operate, taking the place of a handful of vulnerable runways that could be disabled by Chinese missiles or drones.

The facility was originally intended to be shared with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). However, last August, the US Department of the Air Force canceled a program that would have seen an RSAF training unit based on Guam.

Despite that partnership not moving forward, other infrastructure improvements have continued, including an upgraded fuel supply system and the construction of new buildings.

How Will the ACE Strategy Affect American Bomber Missions?

Although it could seem counterintuitive not to build bases for the bombers, the ACE strategy actually is meant not to house the bombers in a predictable location.

In 2018, the United States Air Force introduced Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions, which replaced the continuous, predictable forward deployments—notably those to Guam. The Air Force Global Strike Command now deploys heavy bombers, including aircraft from the current fleet of B-52 Stratofortress, B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers, into overseas theaters for shorter, unpredictable periods.

BTF deployments are also used as opportunities for the US Air Force bomber crews and support personnel to conduct integrated training with NATO allies and partners, as well as to demonstrate command and control capabilities and provide strategic deterrence.

Such BTF missions will continue with the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, the world’s first “sixth-generation aircraft,” as it enters service later this decade.

“The decision to pour massive open aprons at Andersen Air Force Base, rather than building protective shelters, reflects a fundamental shift in how the Pentagon plans to survive a missile exchange in the Indo-Pacific,” Simple Flying explained—noting that in a conflict with a near-peer adversary like China, permanent hangars would be a liability, easily targeted by long-range ballistic and cruise missiles.

The ongoing conflict with Iran has shown that storage bunkers, aircraft shelters, and permanent drone bases were prime targets for the United States military and Israel. Satellite imagery has verified the destruction of such structures at key Iranian installations, including sites in the southern coastal city of Konarak and Kharg Island. The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) further confirmed that the strikes on Kharg Island destroyed missile storage bunkers, naval mine storage facilities and other military facilities.

In an ironic twist, the strategic underpinning for the change in approach might have been Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025, during which US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s nuclear facilities, deploying heavy “bunker-buster” bombs. That served as a reminder that there is no such thing as a truly hardened structure that can provide high-value assets on the ground. The best way to avoid being destroyed in a missile or bomber attack is to be someplace else!

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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