On January 10, Russian officials acknowledged plans to deploy a second S-400 air defense division to occupied Crimea. Vadim Astafyev, Russia’s Southern Military District spokesman, told the state-run TASS news agency that the incoming system would be placed on combat duty in Crimea “soon.” The first S-400 division was earmarked for delivery in July 2016...
On January 12, the Chinese Navy (PLAN) inducted a new 4,000-ton Type 054A Jiangkai II-class guided-missile frigate into service. The stealth frigate, christened Rizhao (598), was commissioned at a naval shipyard in northeast Liaoning Province. It is armed with HQ-16 medium-range air defense missiles, a 32-cell vertical launching system, and can carry a variety of...
On January 9, the Chinese military released test-fire images and video footage of what appears to be indigenous Dong Feng-11 or Dong Feng-16 missiles. The PLA Daily released the images, but the paper did not specify when or where the tests were conducted. Both the DF-11 and DF-16 are short-range, surface-to-surface ballistic missiles. The DF-11...
On January 11, KSA air defenses intercepted a Qaher-M2 short-range ballistic missile launched by Houthi rebels targeting the Saudi city of Najran. Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Arab coalition forces, said that the missile was destroyed by Patriot interceptors in the region. Falling debris caused minor property damage, but no casualties were reported....
On January 9, the U.S. State Department approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan of Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missiles at an estimated cost of $133.3 million. According to a Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) news release, “The Government of Japan has requested a possible sale of four (4) Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block...
On January 3, the Pakistani Navy conducted a successful test firing of its Harbah cruise missile. The indigenously produced Harbah was launched in the North Arabian Sea by the Azmat-class fast-attack craft PNS Himmat (1027). The missile is reportedly a variant of the Babur missile family, and can perform both antiship and land-attack missions. While...
On January 6, deputy commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base Gen. Abolfazl Sepehrirad said the Bavar-373 air and missile defense missile system had successfully completed all initial testing. The indigenously produced Bavar-373 is designed to intercept cruise missiles, drones, combat aircraft, and ballistic missiles at terminal altitudes, and employs three different missile variants...
On January 5, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of U.S. Department of State approval for a potential Foreign Military Sale to Mexico. The Mexican government requested to purchase six Harpoon Block II surface launched missiles, 23 Block II Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM), six MK 54 Mod 0 lightweight torpedoes, in addition to several...
On January 5, Saudi Air Defense intercepted a Qaher-M2 short-range ballistic missile targeting the country’s southwestern city of Najran. According to the official spokesperson of the Arab Coalition, Colonel Turki al-Maliki, the Houthi missile was intercepted by the Patriot defense system north of Najran, resulting in minor damage to private property due to the shrapnel, but...
On Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned five Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG) subordinates: Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Sanikhani Industries, Shahid Moghaddam Industries, Shahid Eslami Research Center, and Shahid Shustari Inudstries. All of these entities are assessed to be responsible for different stages in the development and...
