In July and August, China tested two hypersonic weapons, according to “people familiar with US intelligence assessments.” The first weapon, tested July 27, incorporated a fractional orbital bombardment system-like launch vehicle, which partly orbited the Earth before releasing a hypersonic weapon that reentered the atmosphere. Officials stated the weapon “missed its target by about two-dozen...
On October 13, the U.S. Army successfully flight tested the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a short-range ballistic missile, to an undisclosed range of over 499 km. In a press statement, missile producer Lockheed Martin stated that the test demonstrated PrSM’s “longest flight to date.” The PrSM program entered its engineering and manufacturing development phase in...
On October 12 and 13, the Iranian Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched several surface-to-air missiles in a drill of air defense forces in Central Iran. The exercise, named Modafe’an-e Aseman-e Velayat 1400 [Defenders of Sky of Velayat 1400], included a variety of indigenous air defense systems, including Iran’s 3rd Khordad, Mersad, Talash, 15th...
On October 3 and 4, Russia’s defense ministry announced its first and second flight tests of a Zircon hypersonic missile from attack submarine Severodvinsk (K-560). In the first test, Russia’s navy fired the missile from the surfaced submarine in the Barents Sea, striking a “hypothetical sea target.” In a second test, announced October 4, Severodvinsk...
On September 30, North Korea successfully flight tested a new surface-to-air missile (SAM), according to an announcement released by state media. The launch reportedly demonstrated the new missile’s “twin-rudder control technology” and “double-impulse flight engine,” along with improvements to responsiveness and guidance accuracy. North Korea conducted its last known test of a SAM, an older...
On September 27, India successfully test fired an upgraded variant of its Akash surface-to-air missile. The upgraded missile, named Akash Prime, intercepted and destroyed an unmanned aerial target in a flight test at India’s Integrated Test Range in Odisha. The Akash system entered Indian Army service in 2009. Related Links: Successful Maiden Flight Test of...
On September 28, North Korea launched a missile from the country’s northern Jagang Province in what state-run media described as a test of a “hypersonic missile.” According to South Korean security officials, the weapon flew less than 200 km and did not follow a ballistic trajectory, exhibiting “different flight features from the missiles the North...
On September 27, the U.S. Defense Department announced the successful flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), a scramjet-propelled hypersonic missile. In the test, conducted the week of September 19, the hydrocarbon-fueled missile successfully released from an aircraft before cruising to speeds over Mach 5. HAWC is a DARPA-U.S. Air Force technology demonstration...
On September 17, the U.S. Navy launched two unarmed Trident II D5 Life Extended (LE) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) in a scheduled flight test in waters off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The missiles, launched from Ohio-class submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742), landed in the Atlantic Ocean within the U.S. Eastern Test Range instrumented complex. The launches mark...
On September 15, North Korea test fired two short-range ballistic missiles from a train, which travelled 800 km before landing in the sea within Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The rail-based missile, while not named, visually resembled the KN-23 SRBM, which North Korea last tested in 2019. Earlier on September 13, North Korean state media announced the...
