Russia has conducted the eighth test of its new anti-ballistic missile, according to a Ministry of Defense release on July 1. The test took place at the Sary Shagan test site in Kazakhstan. While the Ministry of Defense declined to name the missile, the weapon appeared to be a 53T6M, a replacement for the 53T6...
On June 27, armed forces under the UN-backed Libyan National Army discovered four American-made Javelin antitank missiles at a rebel weapons cache near Tripoli. According to markings on the weapons, the United States originally supplied the missiles to the United Arab Emirates in a 2008 arms sale. The missiles were later found to be of...
On June 27, the Indian Army successfully test fired a Prithvi-II short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) off the country’s Odisha Coast. Officials described the flight as a routine test. The liquid-fueled missile can carry a 500 to 750 kg payload to a 250 km range. Related Links: Nuclear-capable missile Prithvi II successfully test-fired, The Economic Times...
On June 26, Russian defense industry insiders confirmed that construction for an early warning radar in Crimea would begin this year. The new radar, the Voronezh, would replace the older Dnepr system built in Sevastopol. After finalizing a contract in 2019, the unnamed sources stated that the radar would enter service in December 2020, contradicting...
In a June 24 release, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a $562 million sale of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Bahrain, Poland, and Romania. First fielded in 1986, the ATACMS surface-to-surface missile can deliver a 160-560 kg warhead at ranges up to 300 km. The contract is scheduled for completion in June...
On June 19, the U.S. Navy flight tested the Block 2A Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), a short-range interceptor used to defeat antiship missiles and other airborne threats. Conducted in Southern California, the tests successfully demonstrated the improved guidance systems in the Block 2A upgrade. The missile is slated for delivery by the end of 2019....
On June 19, Raytheon announced the first flight test of the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II missile launched from the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) conducted in May. Tested in Andoya, Norway, the missile successfully intercepted and destroyed its target. NASAMS, a surface to air missile system using air-to-air missiles, was co-developed by the United...
On June 19, several rockets struck oil facilities near Basra in Southern Iraq. According to Iraqi security forces, the first Katyusha rocket struck the Iraqi Drilling Company’s headquarters in Basra, injuring three Iraqi workers, while no injuries were reported in the second attack. The unclaimed attacks came following several rocket strikes on Iraqi oil facilities...
On June 20, Iran shot down a U.S. reconnaissance drone operating above the Strait of Hormuz. Following the attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps alleged that the drone had violated Iranian airspace, a claim U.S. Central Command denied in an official statement. Official reports have alternatively identified the drone as a RQ-4A Global Hawk or...
On June 12, Japanese Ministry of Defense officials confirmed plans to study a space-based early missile warning system by testing an experimental infrared sensor in 2020. According to Sankei Shimbun, Tokyo will mount the two-color sensor on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)’s Advanced Optical Satellite-3 (ALOS-3), an imaging satellite. Japan began research on two-color...
