On November 24, China’s Navy conducted its first flight test of the JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The test took place in the Bohai Sea and, according to one report, “likely verified the system’s proper cold ejection from the submarine-based launch tube.” The test has not yet been acknowledged by Chinese authorities. The JL-3, also...
On December 18, U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) awarded Lockheed Martin a $585 million contract to design, develop, and deliver the Homeland Defense Radar – Hawaii (HDR-H). According to the contract statement, the radar will provide “autonomous acquisition and persistent precision tracking and discrimination to optimize the defensive capability of the BMDS and other evolving...
On December 18, the U.S. State Department approved a potential $3.5 billion sale of Patriot air defenses to Turkey. The deal would include 80 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM) and 60 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, as well as four AN/MPQ-65 radars and other related equipment. According to an unnamed State Department spokesperson,...
On December 17, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov confirmed to local media that Russia’s 9K720 Iskander-M SRBM “has proved to be effective” in the Syrian war. He also confirmed the use of the Tornado-G and Smerch multiple launch rocket systems, the Pantsir-S missile, and other anti-aircraft missile systems. Borisov’s statements affirm multiple unconfirmed reports...
On November 27, the Brazilian Navy test launched a prototype of its indigenously produced Míssil Antinavio Nacional de Superfície (MANSUP). The test marked the first flight trial of the antiship missile and took place off the coast of Rio de Janiero. In a statement, the Navy said the MANSUP met several functioning milestones, while others...
On December 10, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General released a report, detailing cybersecurity shortcomings of the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The audit found that the system’s software and hardware are at risk of being attacked or infiltrated to gain access to classified information. In the report, the Inspector General noted...
On December 9, the U.S. Navy launched its third and last Zumwalt-class destroyer, the USS Lyndon B. Johnson, from General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works shipyard in Maine. Zumwalt ships feature a stealth design, electric propulsion system, and a wave-piercing tumblehome hull to support their primary surface-attack mission. First-of-class USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) has been undergoing...
On December 10, the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) deployed its Eurofighter Typhoon with the new Meteor air-to-air missile from RAF Lossiemouth in a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) mission to defend U.K. airspace. U.K. Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson said that the Meteor missile “demonstrates the next chapter of the Typhoon, which will see the jet...
On December 11, the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency conducted an SM-3 Block IIA intercept test from an Aegis Ashore facility at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii. The SM-3 IIA successfully intercepted an IRBM target launched by a USAF C-17 thousands of kilometers southwest of the Aegis Ashore site. An MDA...
On December 5, Russian news outlet Kommersant reported that Moscow will not authorize the sale of its Bal-E coastal defense system and 3M24 missiles to Azerbaijan. The report cited several unnamed Russian Defense officials who indicated the negotiation for the weapons system was discontinued over concerns that the 120 km range missiles might threaten Russia’s...
