An Israeli television report on Tuesday showed satellite images indicating a Scud missile factory capable of production and underground storage of ballistic missiles is currently under construction in northwest Syria, near the coastal city of Baniyas. Intelligence experts analyzed the images and concluded that the site’s structures bear a strong resemblance to those used in...
On August 14, the New York Times reported that North Korea’s recent successes in testing an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) have been facilitated by purchasing Ukrainian rocket engines on the blackmarket. Citing a newly released study by the International Institute for Security Studies, and “classified assessments by American intelligence agencies,” the Times stated the Russian...
On August 13, in response to new U.S. sanctions the Iranian parliament overwhelming passed legislation allotting $800 million in additional spending for several military and intelligence projects, including the country’s ballistic missile programs. Iran’s missile program will receive $260 million, and the Quds Force, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps foreign operations wing, is set to...
On August 8, the Washington Post reported on Defense Intelligence Agency analysis indicating that North Korea had successfully miniaturized a nuclear warhead, capable of being fitted onto an ICBM. President Trump responded that “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States…They will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the...
On August 10, President Trump announced his administration’s intentions for a “billions of dollars” increase in missile defense spending. The President told reporters, “We are going to be increasing our budget by many billions of dollars because of North Korea, and other reasons having to do with the anti-missile. We are going to be increasing...
On July 27, the U.S. Navy successfully conducted an AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) test. AMDR detected and tracked a medium-range ballistic missile target. AMDR is planned to equip the Navy’s new Flight III Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyers. The Naval Sea Systems Command released the following statement concerning the test: U.S. Navy successfully...
On August 2, the U.S. Air Force successfully test fired an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Fired out of Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, the missile traveled approximately 6,800 km across the Pacific before striking a target area at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. According to a statement from the USAF,...
On July 28, North Korea carried out a second flight test of its Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile. According the North Korean news sources, the missile flew on lofted trajectory to an altitude of 3,724.9 km up into the air before, traveling 998 km before falling into the Sea of Japan. North Korea launched the missile...
On July 30, Chinese president Xi Jinping presided over a large military parade celebrating the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). China unveiled its new DF-31AG ICBM. The DF-31AG is an upgrade to the DF-31A missile that was introduced in 2009. The DF-31AG was mounted on an all-terrain vehicle, demonstrating...
On July 29, South Korean officials said the country will allow the deployment of four additional Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers. The four THAAD units are already in South Korea, but President Moon Jae-in had delayed deployment pending an environmental assessment. Two THAAD units have been deployed since May 2017. On July 30,...
