On March 4, U.S. and Israeli forces began joint exercises for the 12-day Juniper Cobra 2018 wargame, designed to improve coordination between the two militaries. The exercise consists of responding to threat scenarios using computer-assisted simulations that range from rocket threats to crisis resupply, foreign disaster response and foreign humanitarian assistance. Integrated ballistic missile defense...
In early March, Singapore officials confirmed deployment of the MBDA Aster 30 air defense system. The missiles were ordered at the end of summer 2013, to replace Singapore’s aging I-HAWK ground-based air defense system. In a March 2 speech to the Parliament’s defense committee, Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen confirmed deployment of the Aster 30...
On March 8, the White House announced President Trump had accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to meet for negotiations over its nuclear program. The invitation was conveyed by South Korean officials in a meeting with President Trump, with the meeting scheduled to take place by May. The announcement came as a...
On March 7, Iranian Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajjizadeh told Fars News Agency that Iran has significantly increased its missile production. “In the past we had to do a lot of explaining to various bodies for our actions but it’s not like that anymore,” said Hajjizadeh, who leads the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace division. “Our production...
On March 6, the Defense Intelligence Agency released its annual Worldwide Threat Assessment, the yearly unclassified briefing on the conclusions of the intelligence community on a wide range of topics. This year’s report highlighted North Korea’s accelerating nuclear and missile programs as well as Russian non-compliance with the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. In...
In a speech on March 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the development of new nuclear delivery systems capable of evading U.S. missile defenses. The State of the Union address officially unveiled two new capabilities: a low-flying, nuclear-armed, and reportedly nuclear-powered cruise missile and a submarine-launched, long-range, nuclear-tipped torpedo. “The containment of Russia didn’t succeed,”...
A problem in transferring data from ground systems caused the second cancellation of an Arrow-3 test in the last two months, according to Moshe Patel, director of the Israel Missile Defense Organization. Test engineers declared this a “no test,” and not a failed test, because the interceptor missile was never launched. The previous test last...
On December 17, Qatar unveiled a new short-range ballistic missile system during its 2017 National Day parade, which appears to be a modified Chinese SY-400 system. The SY-400 is typically mounted on an 8×8 TEL, like that shown in the parade, and is capable of carrying both BP-12A and SY-400 missiles. The BP-12A can carry a 480...
On October 6, the U.S. State Department approved a potential $15 billion Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) and related support, equipment, and services. The deal comprises 44 THAAD launchers, 360 missile interceptors, seven AN/TPY-2 radar systems, and other related parts, training, and equipment. A day before the...
On May 4, India test-fired its medium-range, nuclear-capable Agni-2 missile. The rocket was launched from Abdul Kalam Island, located off the east Indian coast. Certain Indian defense officials stated that the test did not meet all the desired parameters, though others claimed success. The Defence Research and Development Organization did not offer official confirmation. The...
