October 9, 2019
On October 9, the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force conducted a public drill of its Patriot missile defense system in Tokyo. The demonstration took place at a public park in Ariake District, Tokyo and marked the first urban JASDF missile defense exercise since 2013. Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono and Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attended the...
June 14, 2018
The Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) System, is the sea-based component of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). It uses the SPY-1 radar and variants of Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) or Standard Missile-6 to intercept ballistic missiles during midcourse or terminal phases of flight. The system is integrated on certain U.S. Navy Ticonderoga-class Cruisers (CG) and Arleigh Burke-class...
February 6, 2018
On February 6, India successfully test fired its Agni-1 missile. The TEL-based launch took place from the Integrated Test Range off the Odisha coast. According to defense officials, the launch was scheduled as part of a periodic training cycle by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army to test the operational readiness of India’s...
January 17, 2018
On January 10, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it will not replace Boeing as the prime integrator for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. An Independent Readiness Review Team (IRRT) composed of subject matter experts found that the Missile Defense Agency was not ready to assume the GMD weapon system prime role at...
June 5, 2017
The United States‘ Missile Defense Agency is accelerating the development of an interceptor designed to counter several incoming warheads or decoys simultaneously. The most recent Department of Defense budget request seeks $259 million for the Multi-Object Kill Vehicle (MOKV) program for technology risk reduction and product development and speeds up its projected completion by five...
April 5, 2017
Gaps in coverage leave interceptors less-equipped to defeat the threats of tomorrow. No missile defense is better than the sensors that tell the interceptors where to go and what to kill. The Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD, draws upon considerably more sensors for homeland defense than when operations began in 2004, but shortfalls remain....
August 9, 2016
The Sejjil missile is a two-stage, solid-propellant, medium-range ballistic missile domestically designed and built by Iran. Sejjil Development Development of the Sejjil missile likely began in the late 1990s, but stems directly from development work of previous Iranian missiles, most notably the Zelzal SRBM. Its use of solid propellant, in particular, is due to fuel...
April 14, 2016
The Ground-based Interceptor (GBI) is a component of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System. GBIs are silo-launched and intercept ballistic missiles in their midcourse, while they are outside of the atmosphere and at their highest trajectory. The GBI consists of a multi-stage rocket booster (Boost Vehicle [BV]) and a kinetic kill vehicle (Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle...
November 29, 2018
On November 27, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that the country has concluded a $292 million deal to purchase two Israeli advanced radar systems, dubbed Green Pine. While South Korea purchased earlier versions of the Green Pine radar in 2009, intended to be used with the Patriot system, the new Block C...
September 14, 2018
On September 14, the U.S. State Department approved South Korea to purchase 64 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missiles; nine Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio Systems; 42 AN/AAR-54 Missile Warning Sensors; and various support equipment. The $501 million price tag includes training and support services. The approval follows the June...