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...
According to officials from both South Korea’s Defense Ministry and Japan’s Foreign Ministry, South Korea and Japan have provisionally signed the outline of a revived intelligence sharing agreement. However, the ongoing negotiations are beset by opposition in South Korea based on residual tensions over an ongoing territorial dispute in the Sea of Japan and Japan’s military...
According to the chief of United States Forces in Korea, GEN Vincent Brooks, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system will be deployed to South Korea sometime in the next eight to ten months. Brooks’ remarks also suggested that the South Korean battery would be larger than the one currently deployed in Guam....
U.S. officials report North Korea is preparing for another test launch of its BM-25 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile for some time in the next three days. This test would come only a few days before the U.S. presidential election on November 8. With between a 2,500 and a 4,000 kilometer range, a fully operational Musudan...
Japan and South Korea completed a Foreign Military Sales Agreement to purchase the Aegis Baseline 9 Combat System in a deal announced August 12. The agreement will equip two Japanese Atago-class destroyers and three South Korean Sejong-class destroyers with the capability to simultaneously conduct air defense and ballistic missile defense missions. The South Korean vessels...
During a hearing a before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, testified that “Given the accelerating pace of North Korea’s missile tests, we intend to deploy on an accelerated basis. I would say as...
The Ghauri (Hatf 5) is a Pakistani medium-range, road-mobile, liquid-fueled ballistic missile. It can carry a 700 kg warhead up to 1,500 km. Hatf 5’s range and nuclear capability give it the ability to hold targets deep within Indian territory at risk, making it a core part of Pakistan’s strategic missile forces. Hatf 5 Development The...
This study explores the growing competition for scarce dollars at the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA). It traces the authorities, roles, and missions assigned to the agency and the growing trend of using what was originally intended to be a research and development budget for procurement and sustainment of missile defense assets. As adversary missile...
The OTR-21 Tochka (NATO: SS-21 “Scarab”) is a short-range, road-mobile, solid propellant, single warhead ballistic missile designed for battlefield deployment. It was designed as a replacement for the Free Rocket Over Ground (FROG) missile series. Reports suggest that it can be launched in either a ballistic or cruise missile mode. The ballistic mode provides an...
The SS-1 “Scud A” was designed a short time after the end of World War II by captured German scientists and is based upon the Nazi V-2 rocket which was used to attack London during the Second World War. The Scud family of short-range, liquid-fueled missiles has now proliferated around the world and serves as...
