Iran displayed a Ghadr ballistic missile during demonstrations commemorating the anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The Ghadr, an improved Shahab-3 variant, is a liquid-fueled medium-range ballistic missile that has a range of around 2,000 km, which puts Israel within reach. It was previously displayed during a public show in...
On November 1, the Navy’s Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8 executed live-fire exercises against simulated enemy missile fire with radar data coming from the guard ship. Three unmanned aircraft imitating missiles were fired at the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) while radar systems from the USS Normandy (CG 60) guided missile cruiser tracked the...
On November 3, the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s Varshavyanka class Kolpino (B-271) submarine fired six SS-N-30 Kalibr cruise missiles from a submerged position in the Mediterranean Sea at targets located in Syria’s Abu Kamal region on the country’s southeastern border with Iraq. A representative from the Russian Ministry of Defense told journalists that Russian forces...
On October 31, Seoul and Beijing agreed to end a year-long dispute over the deployment of a U.S. THAAD battery in South Korea. Following South Korea’s decision to deploy the missile defense system, China targeted ROK retail, tourism, cosmetics, and entertainment industries that rely heavily on the Chinese market and customers. “Both sides shared the...
On October 31, the head of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari told journalists that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has restricted the range of ballistic missiles developed in the country to 2,000 km. “Today, the range of our missiles, as the policies of Iran’s supreme leader dictate, are limited to 2,000 kilometers,...
On the evening of October 26, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin oversaw a scheduled training exercise by the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Four intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and an unknown number of air-launched cruise missiles were fired during the exercise. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, nuclear submarines from the Pacific and Northern Fleets, as...
North Korea has reportedly conducted a static test of a “new” type of solid fuel engine. Believed to have been tested at Hamhung on the country’s eastern coast, the engine was evaluated in a horizontal configuration, unlike previous tests of liquid fuel engines. North Korea is known to have developed two solid fuel missiles, the...
On October 26, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of new sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missiles program. Passed in an overwhelming 423 to two vote, the Iran Ballistic Missiles and International Sanctions Enforcement Act would require the President to provide Congress, within 90 days of the bill’s enactment, a report on: 1) Iran’s...
On October 22, the U.S. Marine Corps successfully test fired a truck-mounted M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from the flight deck of the San Antonio-class USS Anchorage. The launch took place along the Southern California coast during exercise ‘Dawn Blitz 2017,’ with HIMARS engaging a land-based target at a 70 km range with...
On October 24, the United States, South Korea (ROK), and Japan began a joint missile early warning exercise. Although no missiles will be fired, the two-day joint exercise has mobilized four Aegis Combat System-equipped ships to practice detecting and tracking computer-simulated North Korean ballistic missiles. The USS Stethem (DDG 63) and the USS Milius (DDG...
