63 items, Page 6 of 7
May 31, 2017
Missile threats facing both the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific are increasing in complexity, number, and source. In response, the Trump administration is using missile defenses to boost military capability and signal resolve, as indicated by the deployment of THAAD to South Korea...
May 23, 2017
On May 23, the USS Mason (DDG-87) was awarded the 2016 Battenberg Cup, which is presented annually to the best-all around ship or submarine in the United States Navy’s Atlantic Fleet based on crew achievements. While the ship was recognized for the entire deployment, the citation singled out a string of incidents in the vicinity...
April 27, 2017
Between April 6 and April 13, the U.S. Navy successfully tested four Standard Missile 6 Block 1 (SM-6 Blk 1) interceptors outfitted with the most recent hardware and software packages, designed to improve the system’s air and missile defense and surface warfare capabilities. According to U.S. Navy, two of the flights set SM-6 records for...
March 31, 2017
On March 15, the Navy conducted a successful flight test using the AN/SPY-6 (V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) to track a target from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii. According to a March 30 statement made by Naval Sea Systems Command, the flight test, referred to as ‘Vigilant Hunter,’ achieved its...
March 15, 2017
On March 14, 2017, the United States, South Korea, and Japan began two days of drills in the Sea of Japan in order to better respond to a potential ballistic missile attack. The drills involve the guided-missile destroyers USS Curtis Wilber (DDG-54), ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991), and JDS Kirishima (DDG-174), three Aegis-equipped ships two...
March 7, 2017
The defense authorization act signed into law in December 2016 contained an important provision mandating a review of missile defeat policy, strategy, and capability, to be completed and submitted to Congress in January 2018. This Missile Defeat Review (MDR) appears likely to serve as a successor to both the Department of Defense’s 2010 Ballistic Missile...
February 22, 2017
On February 21, ADM Harry Harris, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, called for greater integration of joint forces so that Army platforms can target threats identified by Navy radars and vice versa. Harris, talking about the future of PACOM, said that he’d “like to see the Army’s land forces conduct exercises to sink a...
January 25, 2017
On Friday, January 20, 2017, The United States, South Korea, and Japan began a three-day naval-missile defense exercise in response to concerns of a possible North Korean ICBM test during President Trump’s inauguration. The exercises were conducted as a combined effort between the USS Stethem (DDG 63), the JDS Kirishima (DDG-174), and the ROKS Sejong the Great (DDG-991). Although...
January 11, 2017
The Department of Defense cleared the Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) interceptor for international sale on January 10, 2017. The SM-6 is currently used by the U.S. Navy and has anti-ship, air defense, and terminal ballistic missile defense capabilities. The SM-6 is compatible with Aegis hardware and software, leveraging Aegis’ Baseline 9 system, which allows Aegis-equipped ships to perform both...
December 9, 2016
In response to growing political tension in South East Asia, both Japan and South Korea have passed increased defense budgets for 2017. Japan’s $44.6 billion budget includes costs for upgrading its PAC-3 Patriot missile system, equipping its ships with Aegis radar systems, and continuing development of the SM-3 Block IIA anti-ballistic missile. South Korea’s budget...