On February 11, India conducted a test of its two-tier ballistic missile defense system. Reports indicate that an exo-atmospheric interceptor, also called the “Prithvi Defense Vehicle” (PDV), successfully launched from India’s Wheeler Island test range, approximately 200 km away from the ship-launched target missile. Accroding to DRDO, the PDV intercepted the target at an altitude of...
On February 12, North Korea conducted an apparently successful test-launch of a new medium- to intermediate-range ballistic missile, dubbed the Pukkuksong-2. North Korea’s official news agency confirmed the test on February 13, quoting Kim Jong-Un expressing “great satisfaction over the possession of another powerful nuclear attack means, which adds to the tremendous might of the country.”...
On February 4, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force began a series of military drills and exercises in the Semnan province in northern Iran. The drills included testing various long-range rocket systems including the Khordad-III, Tabasm, and Sayyad-II. The drills also tested the Qadir, Matla al-Fajr, and Kavosh radar systems used for air...
A recent Pentagon testing report indicates that software issues may delay the Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS), a key part of the Army’s new Integrated Air and Missile Defense System. The IBCS acts to connect sensors to fire-control systems across multiple systems in order to track and engage threats, allowing the radar of one Patriot...
On February 6, Turkey’s procurement office announced that the state-controlled missile manufacturer Roketsan is developing a long-range surface-to-surface missile called Bora. The Turkish Undersecretariat of Defense Industries said that “deliveries continue on in line with the program’s timetable,” but failed to specify if the deliveries referred to prototypes or the actual developed system. Security analysts claim...
Taiwanese media reports that Taiwan is pursuing upgrades to its indigenous anti-ship, surface-to-air, and air-to-air missile capabilities. Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, or NCSIST has been working to improve the range, electronic counter-countermeasures, and guidance systems of the Hsiung- Feng (Brave Wind) series of anti-ship missiles, the Tien Kung (Sky Bow) surface-to-air...
On February 3, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Japanese Ministry of Defense conducted a successful intercept test of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA. This was the third flight test and first intercept test for the jointly-developed missile. The SM-3 IIA was fired by the USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53), which intercepted and...
On February 3, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on more than two dozen Iranian, Chinese, and Emirati businesses and individuals that they say support Iran’s ballistic missile program. The sanctions, the first in over a year, come in response to Iran’s January 29 flight test of its Khorramshahr medium-range ballistic missile. John Smith, the...
The German military announced on February 2, 2017 that it has decided to replace its short-range air defense systems in order to improve NATO’s European defense. The decision comes as a relief to NATO allies who have become increasingly concerned about the gaps in air defenses following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The procurement costs...
On January 31, 2017, reports say that China tested a DF-5C intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), a significant increase from the three warheads previously deployed on the DF-5B. The test launched from the Taiyuan Space Launch Center in central China last month. The increased number of MIRVs may imply...
