The Missile Defense Agency launched a pair of SM-6 Dual I interceptors during a December 14 test, destroying a medium-range ballistic missile. The SM-6 uses an explosive warhead to destroy incoming cruise missiles and ballistic missiles during their terminal approach to a target. The SM-6 is slated to play a key role in the Navy’s Aegis...
On December 14, 2016, Pakistan tested its Hatf 7 “Babur” medium-range cruise missile from an undisclosed location. According to the Pakistan Military’s Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the missile was an enhanced version of the standard Babur missile, allowing it to “strike targets both at land and sea with high accuracy, at a range of 700...
On December 12, 2016, South Korea received 40 German Taurus KEPD 350 “bunker-buster” air-to-surface missiles. The missiles will be taken to Daegu and fitted on F-15 fighter jets in order to help arm South Korea against the North. Taurus missiles have a range of 500 km, capable of targeting buildings in North Korea from deep...
On December 12, 2016, the Senate confirmed Major General James Dickinson, previously the chief of staff of U.S. Strategic Command, as the new commanding general of the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command and the Army Forces Strategic Command. Major General Dickinson will also be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General. Including having served...
Russia appears to be building permanent structures to house its SS-26 Iskander missile systems in the Kaliningrad enclave bordering Poland and Lithuania. These reports come from arms control experts who have used satellite imagery to pinpoint the location of the Iskanders and are now beginning to see the construction of permanent structures to shelter these...
Chinese State TV announced on November 28th that China had successfully test launched ten DF-21C medium-range ballistic missiles. The nuclear capable missiles have a range of around 2,150 kilometers, making them able to target numerous U.S. military bases in the region, including Guam. Related Links: China Carry Out 10 Ballistic Missile Flight Tests in a Show of Force...
Ukraine’s military announced that its two-day missile test, beginning December 1, 2016, will avoid Crimean airspace in an attempt to address Russian concern. Ukraine will conduct the exercise in its southern Kherson region on the border of Crimea, formerly a part of Ukraine until it was annexed by Russia in 2014. In anticipation of the test,...
On November 25, 2016, 11 Scud missiles were fired by the Houthi rebels in Yemen towards the southern city of Al-Tuwal in Saudi Arabia. No damage from the attack was reported, and despite some media reports, it remains unclear whether the missiles were intercepted. On November 26, 2016, the Saudi Press Agency reported that Saudi Air...
Hit-to-kill ballistic missile defense is the ultimate precision guidance challenge. Many elements of a defense must come together to achieve a long range intercept. One of the most important and difficult parts is known as mid-course discrimination. Watch the Video After a ballistic missile launches, its engines burn hot and can be detected by infrared...
On November 21, 2016, it was reported that Russia has stationed two K-300P Bastion missile launchers, equipped with P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles, in the Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea. The Oniks has a range 300-450 kilometers, threatening freedom of navigation in the Baltic Sea. The deployment of Bastion missile launchers to this strategic region,...
