More US Army PAC-3's...

I've made some suggestions on how the US Army can get into the fight in the Pacific.  They include highlighting Airborne and Light Infantry (forget about the 101st..too heavy, and not optimized) instead of its Stryker Brigades, allocating additional UAVs and OH-58's to the theater and last by providing Anti-Air/Anti-Missile defense to any and all that ask for it.

Seems like the Army might have gotten at least part of the message.  Via Lockheed Martin Press Release.

DALLAS, Jan. 10, 2013 – Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] received a contract totaling $755 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command for hardware and services associated with the combat-proven PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment program.  The contract includes Fiscal Year 2013 (FY‘13) missile and command launch system production for the U.S. Army and a follow-on sale of the PAC-3 Missile to Taiwan. In 2009, Taiwan became the fifth international customer for the PAC-3 Missile. The contract includes production of 168 hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missiles, 27 launcher modification kits and associated tooling, as well as program management and services. This is the 14^th production buy of the PAC-3 Missile Segment by the U.S. government. “The PAC-3 Missile remains in demand from the U.S. and governments around the world,” said Richard McDaniel, vice president of PAC-3 programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “In fact, we continue to see expanding interest from all PATRIOT-using nations as well as from countries that want to acquire the PAC-3 Missile Segment for the first time.”

Interesting.

Taiwan is buying the missile.

So if this doesn't indicate that the threat from China isn't being realized then nothing will.  Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia and even the US Military are all warming to the idea that the next big bad besides the economy is China (and perhaps they're one and the same).  I give it less than five years before we see a major naval incident in the S. Pacific.  Five short years.

Better buy more missiles.