On March 19, Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) commissioned JS Maya (DDG-179), the first of two Maya-class ships and the seventh Japanese ship equipped with the Aegis combat system. Equipped with the Aegis Baseline J7 system and Cooperative Engagement Capability, the Maya will be capable of engaging ballistic missiles with SM-6 and SM-3 Block...
On March 19, the United States successfully launched the Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii. According to a Navy spokesperson, the test “buil[t] on the success” of an earlier flight in October 2017, testing the weapon’s sustained flight capabilities under “additional stresses.” The U.S. Department of Defense...
On March 10, Lockheed Martin flight tested its second prototype missile for the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) program, an Army contest to replace the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). Launched from White Sands Missile Range, NM, the missile successfully reached a range of 180 km. Lockheed is one of two contractors competing for the PrSM...
On March 7, the U.S. Army scrapped plans to purchase two additional batteries of the Israeli-built Iron Dome missile defense system by 2023. In earlier remarks, Army officials cited the system’s untested record against advanced cruise missiles and Israel’s reluctance to share software source code as a central reason for the cancellation. According to Futures...
On March 9, North Korea fired at least three unidentified missiles from the Sondok region on the country’s east coast. According to South Korea’s defense ministry, the projectiles flew 200 km and reached an altitude of 50 km before landing in the Sea of Japan. U.S. officials later stated that North Korea had fired four...
On March 4, Turkey announced it will deploy domestically-produced short- and medium-range surface-to-air missiles in Idlib, Syria. According to a Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) statement, Turkey will deploy the HISAR-A short-range air defenses within a week, and the medium-range HISAR-O system in a longer timeframe. First tested in 2019, the HISAR-A possesses a range of...
On March 2, North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles from Wonsan in the country’s eastern region. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the two projectiles flew 240 km and reached a maximum altitude of 35 km. The test is the first of its kind after a series of 13 such launches in...
On February 26, the U.S. Navy successfully tested an SM-2 Block IIIB surface-to-air missile at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The launch marks the first test of an SM-2 missile manufactured after a production line restart in June 2017. Over 280 missiles are expected for delivery to foreign military sales customers in 2020. Related...
Russia test fired its Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a ship for the first time, Russia’s TASS news agency has reported. According to defense industry sources, Russia launched the missile from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in early January, striking a ground target over 500 km away. The Tsirkon missile has a claimed range over 1,000 km and...
Japan’s Defense Ministry plans to incorporate an antiship capability on its future hypersonic missiles, according to a February 25 Mainichi Shimbun report. In a 2019 paper, the ministry’s Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Agency outlined plans to introduce a ground-launched hypersonic glide vehicle by fiscal 2026 and a more ambitious, high-lift system by fiscal 2028 or...
