On April 18, the Biden administration said it would halt U.S. antisatellite missile testing. The White House directive focuses on “direct-ascent” weapons that use interceptor missiles launched from Earth to hit a satellite target hundreds of miles into space. This announcement comes after Russia launched a missile to destroy a non-operational Soviet-era satellite in November...
On April 14, Israeli leaders said that Israel’s new laser missile-defense system, called the Iron Beam, effectively intercepted mortars, rockets and anti-tank missiles in recent tests. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that the system’s “interceptions are silent, they’re invisible and they [the interceptions] only cost around $3.50” each. In comparison, each interception using Israel’s...
On April 13, the U.S. Navy announced that it had defeated an in-flight target representing a subsonic cruise missile using an all-electric, high-energy laser weapon during a February demonstration. The weapon, known as the Layered Laser Defense (LLD), is equipped with a high-powered laser and a high-resolution telescope and can defend against unmanned aerial systems...
On April 9, China delivered multiple FK-3 surface-air-to-air missile systems to the Serbian military. The FK-3 is an export version of the Chinese HQ-22 missile system. Like the HQ-22, the FK-3 reportedly has a top speed of Mach 6, though it has a lower maximum range than the HQ-22. Typical FK-3 and HQ-22 systems contain...
On April 8, President Biden said that the United States would deploy a Patriot missile defense system to Slovakia. According to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the Patriot will be manned by U.S. military personnel; Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the deployment would be temporary. This deployment comes after Slovakia recently gave Ukraine an S-300...
On March 29, the United States deployed a Patriot missile system to the Philippines for the first time during the annual Balikatan U.S.-Philippines joint military exercise. This deployment of a Patriot battery by land and sea marked the first amphibious deployment of a Patriot.
On March 24, North Korea flight tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from a site off its east coast. South Korean authorities announced that the missile, reported elsewhere as the Hwasong-17, reached a maximum altitude of 6,200 km and a range of 1,080 km from its launch site, while Japanese officials stated that the “new...
On March 14, the New York Times reported that U.S. intelligence officials found decoy devices among Russian missiles fired into Ukraine. These decoys were released by Iskander-M short-range ballistic missiles, which Russia has fired on Ukraine from mobile launchers within Ukrainian territory. The decoys are filled with electronics and generate radio signals to throw off...
On March 9, the United States announced it had deployed two Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries to Poland. The United States relocated the systems from the Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Germany. U.S. officials described the deployment as “temporary” and “defensive.” Patriot is U.S. Army’s primary air and missile defense system
On March 9, India mistakenly launched an unarmed missile into eastern Pakistan. The Indian Defense Ministry said the accidental fire resulted from a “technical malfunction” in the course of regular maintenance. The projectile was reportedly a BrahMos cruise missile, which was jointly developed with Russia and can travel approximately 300-500 km. The missile damaged civilian...
