On January 28, the U.S. Navy issued a solicitation to integrate the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) on its P-8A maritime patrol aircraft. In a February 2 addition, the Navy states that the contract could also include integration efforts for several Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), Mk62/63/65 mines, Small Diameter Bombs (SDB-II), Miniature Air Launched...
Nearly one month has passed since Iran attacked U.S. troops in Iraq with a barrage of ballistic missiles. As considerably more information has now come to light, a reassessment seems in order. Initially characterized as a symbolic act to be shrugged off, newer information shows the attacks were of greater consequence. The available evidence, for...
On February 5, the U.S. Air Force test launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in southern California. Designated FTU-2, the flight test validated a new explosive fuze for the Minuteman’s W87 nuclear warhead. FTU-2 is the second of four planned tests of the fuze, with the last...
On February 4, the U.S. Department of Defense said it had deployed the W76-2 low-yield nuclear warhead on a Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The statement confirms an earlier report that the USS Tennessee (SSBN-734) had deployed with the warhead in late 2019. According to the Pentagon, the W76-2 “strengthens deterrence and provides the United...
Following its August 2019 decision to cancel the Redesign Kill Vehicle (RKV) program, the Pentagon has issued a “strategic pause” on its Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) flight test program. GMD’s next flight intercept test was scheduled for 2022, where it was expected to test the RKV interceptor. In the last GMD test in March 2019,...
Officials have confirmed U.S. Navy plans to upgrade its Tomahawk missiles to the Block V configuration. Speaking at the 2020 Surface Navy Association Symposium, Tomahawk program manager John Red said the Navy would retire its Block III Tomahawks and update its Block IV units to the new configuration, which adds modern guidance systems and extends...
On January 8, 2020, Iran used ballistic missiles to attack U.S. air bases in Iraq, in response to the U.S.-targeted killing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) commander Qasem Soleimani. The attack against U.S. bases in Iraq demonstrates that Tehran continues to rely on its missile forces as a tool for signaling, diplomacy,...
On January 7, Iran fired at least 16 ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases housing U.S. military and coalition personnel. The salvo launch — which reportedly involved the Qiam and Fateh-313 missiles — targeted Iraq’s Ain al-Assad airbase and a Special Operations facility in Erbil. According to a U.S. officials, 11 missiles struck Ain...
Between December 16-19, the U.S. military conducted a series of exercises against simulated cruise missile threats, demonstrating a new battle management system and air-launched interceptor. According to the U.S. Air Force, an exercise conducted from December 16 to 18 successfully tested the military’s Advanced Battle Management System, sharing targeting information on simulated cruise missiles across...
On December 29, the United States launched airstrikes on five sites in Iraq and Syria controlled by Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iran-backed paramilitary group. According to Pentagon Spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman, the targets “included weapon storage facilities and command and control locations that KH uses to plan and execute attacks on OIR coalition forces.” The U.S. strikes...
