Tag:
united-states

309 items, Page 3 of 31

MDA Selects Defense Contractors for Glide Phase Interceptor Design

On November 19, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency chose Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon Missiles and Defense to complete an “accelerated concept design” of the Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI). The GPI is MDA’s primary hypersonic defense program and is designed to intercept hypersonic weapons kinetically in the endoatmospheric glide phase. GPIs will equip U.S....

Booster Rocket Failure Cuts U.S. Hypersonic Test Short

On October 21, a U.S. Department of Defense hypersonic vehicle test failed after the system’s booster malfunctioned shortly after launch. According to a Pentagon statement, the hypersonic system being tested was not associated with the Army/Navy-developed Common Hypersonic Glide Body weapon currently under development. The flight test attempt reportedly took place in Alaska, but officials...

US Army Flight Tests Ballistic Missile

On October 13, the U.S. Army successfully flight tested the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), a short-range ballistic missile, to an undisclosed range of over 499 km. In a press statement, missile producer Lockheed Martin stated that the test demonstrated PrSM’s “longest flight to date.” The PrSM program entered its engineering and manufacturing development phase in...

US Successfully Tests Air-breathing Hypersonic Weapon

On September 27, the U.S. Defense Department announced the successful flight test of its Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC), a scramjet-propelled hypersonic missile. In the test, conducted the week of September 19, the hydrocarbon-fueled missile successfully released from an aircraft before cruising to speeds over Mach 5. HAWC is a DARPA-U.S. Air Force technology demonstration...

US Navy Test Launches Trident II Missile

On September 17, the U.S. Navy launched two unarmed Trident II D5 Life Extended (LE) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) in a scheduled flight test in waters off Cape Canaveral, Florida. The missiles, launched from Ohio-class submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742), landed in the Atlantic Ocean within the U.S. Eastern Test Range instrumented complex. The launches mark...

US Tests Iron Dome For Army Use

On August 23, Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced successful flight tests of the Iron Dome missile defense system with the United States. The test took place at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico and demonstrated the first of two Iron Dome batteries configured for U.S. Army service under the Interim Fire Protection Capability (IFPC)...

US Tests Minuteman III ICBM

On August 11, the U.S. Air Force test-launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in southern California. The test, designated Glory Trip-239, was successful with a test reentry vehicle landing 6,700 km downrange near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. USAF officials said the launch was “not a...

United States Tests SM-6 Interceptor

On July 24, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) attempted an intercept test against two short-range ballistic missile targets in waters northwest of Hawaii. During the test, USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 14) fired four SM-6 Dual II interceptors at the incoming ballistic missiles, intercepting one target. In a statement, the MDA noted it “[could not]...