On August 27, Russia delivered a second batch of S-400 missile defense equipment to Murted Air Base near Ankara, Turkey. In a statement, Turkey’s defense ministry said that delivery of the second S-400 battery is expected to take a month. Turkey received its first battery of S-400 missiles on July 25. First tested in 1999,...
On August 18, the U.S. Department of Defense flight tested a ground-launched cruise missile from San Nicolas Island, California. Launched from a MK-41 Vertical Launch System, the Tomahawk cruise missile struck its target “after more than 500 kilometers of flight.” Variants of the Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile (TLAM) are capable of ranges between 1,250...
On August 2, the United States withdrew from the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, a U.S.-Russian pact limiting deployment of land-based missiles capable of ranges from 500 to 5,500 km. Since 2014, Washington has publicly accused Russia of deploying treaty-noncompliant missiles—the 9M729 (SSC-8)— a claim the Kremlin denies. In a statement on Friday, Secretary of...
On July 26, Russia flight tested a Topol-M (SS-27) ICBM from a range in Kasputin Yar. In a statement, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said the missile “hit the target at the Sary-Shagan range in Kazakhstan to the specified accuracy.” The Topol-M is a road-mobile missile capable of delivering a single nuclear warhead to an 11,000...
On July 17, Russia tested the Tor-M2DT, a short-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system designed for arctic use. First revealed in 2017, the M2DT is a winterized variant of the Tor missile system built on a DT-30PM tracked chassis. The Russian armed forces first tested the missile at Kasputin Yar in June 2019. The weapon is...
On July 18, the Russian Ministry of Defence released video footage of naval drills in the Sea of Japan. Two vessels of Russia’s Pacific Fleet—a missile boat and a destroyer—participated in the exercise. Each ship launched one or more SS-N-22 Sunburn (Moskit) antiship missiles, striking a floating target located 60 km from the warships. The...
Speaking at a Russian naval exhibition on July 16, a representative of BrahMos Aerospace stated that development was underway for the BrahMos-NG, an upgraded version of the BrahMos cruise missile. The new BrahMos will reportedly reach higher speeds—Mach 3.5 over its predecessor’s 2.8—and be smaller in diameter. It is planned to equip India’s Project 75...
On July 12, Turkey received the first elements of the S-400, a fourth-generation surface-to-air Russian missile system. Few recent weapon sales have been as geopolitically charged as this one. U.S. officials have threatened both military and economic sanctions should Turkey acquire the Russian system. The delivery comes after many years of negotiations for more advanced...
On July 1, the Swedish Armed Forces announced their plan to deploy an updated surface-to-air missile defense system on the island of Gotland amid heightened tensions with Russia. The new system will replace the mobile anti-aircraft guns the military previously used. Sweden has been bolstering its armed forces in the Baltic Sea region since Moscow’s...
On June 30, Russia began production of its new S-500 surface-to-air missile (SAM) systems. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, the S-500 will be delivered to troops in the next few years. Previously, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that the systems would be delivered in 2020. Reports note that the S-500 system...
