Russia has declared three new Voronezh radars operational in Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, and Altay Krais. The early warning radar system possesses a 6,000 km range, and according to Colonel General Alexander Goloyko, it is designed to “provide continuous radar monitoring of all directions vulnerable to a potential missile attack.” The addition of these three radars brings...
On December 17, Qatar unveiled a new short-range ballistic missile system during its 2017 National Day parade, which appears to be a modified Chinese SY-400 system. The SY-400 is typically mounted on an 8×8 TEL, like that shown in the parade, and is capable of carrying both BP-12A and SY-400 missiles. The BP-12A can carry a 480...
Japan’s Cabinet approved a plan to purchase two Aegis Ashore systems on Tuesday in response to the growing North Korean missile threat. During a press conference, Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera stated, “We cannot say what the final costs will be, but we will move ahead [to introduce Aegis Ashore] on the fastest possible schedule, given...
The Saudi-led coalition announced Tuesday that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s rebel Houthi group. Houthi sources reported firing a missile towards Riyadh, targeting a meeting of the Saudi leadership in al-Yamama Palace. Saudi media claims that the missile was headed towards a residential area of Riyadh and no casualties or damages have...
The Trump Administration released its National Security Strategy today, which includes the following excerpts on missile defense: “Many actors can now field a broad arsenal of advanced missiles, including variants that can reach the American homeland.” “A layered missile defense system will defend our homeland against missile attacks.” “As missiles grow in numbers, types,...
On Tuesday, Iron Dome batteries intercepted rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Ashkelon. While no groups claimed responsibility for the rocket launch, Israeli forces attacked Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response. Tension between Hamas and Israeli forces have intensified within the past week, following protests in response to President Trump’s announcement recognizing...
Lockheed Martin, General Atomics, and Boeing were all awarded contracts by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) worth around $9 million to create preliminary designs for a “UAV-based, multi-kilowatt-class laser to demonstrate beam stabilization technology.” The Low Power Laser Demonstrator program formally began in 2015, and, according to MDA Director Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, seeks...
The Japanese Defense Ministry has requested an additional 730 million yen (6.4 million USD) in the FY 2018 defense budget to begin building two land-based Aegis Ashore missile defense systems. Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told reporters on Sunday that, “There is a need to strengthen our capability to regularly and sustainably defend all of the...
For the next two days, the United States, Japan, and South Korea will conduct a joint missile tracking exercise in the Sea of Japan. The exercise will include Aegis-equipped destroyers conducting computer-simulated training for submarine missile launches by North Korea, according to South Korean military officials. The drill comes as experts speculate that North Korea...
National Security Council official Christopher Ford revealed in a speech at the Wilson Center on November 29 that the Russian missile violating the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is the land-based cruise missile Novator 9M729 (NATO designation: SSC-8). The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement saying that Russia is not violating the treaty,...
