Category Archives: Missiles

Will Israel destroy Russian missiles? – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

Posted by on May 18, 2013 Comments Off

The question is – what will happen next time? Assad has apparently not given up on his plan to supply Hezbollah with “deterrence diminishing” weapons as a reward for the Shiite group’s assistance in his regime’s battle for survival. Assad also wants Hezbollah to safeguard his strategic weapons systems so they will not fall into rebel hands.

This is why the West estimates Israel will apparently be forced to attack – perhaps in the near future – additional arms shipments making their way from Iran to Hezbollah via Syria. It is also estimated that Assad would have to respond, despite the fact that he has almost no effective retaliation options. The Syrian army, in its current state, cannot attack us on the ground, and if it fires missiles toward Israel’s home front, Israel will destroy most of the Assad regime’s military assets, and other assets, which are crucial for its continued survival.

Will Israel destroy Russian missiles? – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews

US Sees China Missile Launch as Test of Muscle

Posted by on May 16, 2013 Comments Off

Possible anti-satellite payload

However, a U.S. defense official said U.S. intelligence showed that the rocket could be used in the future to carry an anti-satellite payload on a similar trajectory. Neither the U.S. official nor the Pentagon released details of what the Chinese rocket carried into space.

“It was a ground-based missile that we believe would be their first test of an interceptor that would be designed to go after a satellite that’s actually on orbit,” said the official, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

US Sees China Missile Launch as Test of Muscle

Russia building up missile defenses while seeking to limit U.S. defenses | Washington Free Beacon

Posted by on May 16, 2013 Comments Off

Russia is engaged in a major buildup of both nuclear and conventional missile defense systems at the same time Moscow is seeking legal limits on U.S. missile defenses, according to U.S. officials.

The Russian military is developing and deploying an array of new and modernized anti-missile interceptors that are part of a strategic doctrine that calls for defending against what Moscow believes to be an increasing threat posed by offensive ballistic missiles, said U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports.

Russia building up missile defenses while seeking to limit U.S. defenses | Washington Free Beacon

Netanyahu to Putin: ‘Your missile sales to Assad could trigger war’ | The Times of Israel

Posted by on May 16, 2013 Comments Off

PM says sophisticated S-300 system has no relevance for Syrian regime’s civil-war battles, but that its delivery by Moscow could prompt an Israeli response, Channel 2 reports

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He said that if acquired by Assad, the S-300 — a state-of-the-art system that can intercept fighter jets and cruise missiles — “is likely to draw us into a response, and could send the region deteriorating into war,” the Channel 2 report said.

Netanyahu to Putin: ‘Your missile sales to Assad could trigger war’ | The Times of Israel

ERICKSON: Missiles to meet the new threat curve – Washington Times

Posted by on May 15, 2013 Comments Off

While capitulating to Russian demands was in itself disturbing, the adoption of the European Phased Adaptive Approach also committed the long-term missile defense interests of the United States to the development of a future, theoretical iteration of the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), known as the Block IIB.

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Now, objections by Russia to the development of the SM-3 Block IIB, coupled with increasing criticisms about the missile’s capabilities and limitations, including a scathing report by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, have caused the Obama administration to scrap funding for the Block IIB.

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The threat of an EMP, a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic energy detonated in the atmosphere and capable of collapsing an area’s electric grid, communications systems, and transportation, is in a sense a more immediate threat given that it need not originate from hostile foreign soil. An EMP could be launched from a sea-based vessel much closer to American shores.

ERICKSON: Missiles to meet the new threat curve – Washington Times

It’s not just the missiles, stupid | The Times of Israel

Posted by on May 15, 2013 Comments Off

Al Quds al-Arabi newspaper claimed Tuesday that Assad’s army actually already possesses the S-300 system, but that it is under Russian control. This cuts to the heart of the matter: the extent of Russian-Syrian cooperation. More than the technological ability of each weapons system, the very fact of Russian involvement on the ground — in terms of technical support and strategic backing — is pivotal.

“The surface-to-air missiles are a small problem,” Rubin said, with varying degrees of severity. “The big problem is Russia itself.”

It’s not just the missiles, stupid | The Times of Israel

China Conducts Test of New Anti-Satellite Missile | Washington Free Beacon

Posted by on May 15, 2013 Comments Off

China’s military on Monday conducted the first test of a new ground-launched anti-satellite missile that was fired into space and disguised as a space-exploration rocket, according to U.S. officials.

The test was carried out early Monday from the Xichang Space Launch center and was identified by officials as the new Dong Ning-2 ASAT missile.

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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was asked if China conducted an ASAT test during a briefing for reporters in Beijing on Tuesday. He did not deny that it was carried out.

China Conducts Test of New Anti-Satellite Missile | Washington Free Beacon

Pentagon plans to share missile secrets with Russia opposed by Republicans | Washington Free Beacon

Posted by on May 13, 2013 Comments Off

The Pentagon held internal talks on declassifying sensitive missile defense technology that it plans to share with Russia as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to assuage Moscow’s opposition to European defenses.

Republicans in both the House and Senate plan to block any technology declassification for missile defense technology in the current defense authorization bill and other legislation. Legislative mark up on the authorization bill begins this week.

Pentagon plans to share missile secrets with Russia opposed by Republicans | Washington Free Beacon

US Launch Officers for Nuclear Missiles: Incompetence, rot and crisis

Posted by on May 8, 2013 Comments Off

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Air Force has quietly stripped 17 officers of the authority to order the launch of nuclear missiles.

The move comes on the heels of a military review that found several failings in the officers’ unit, the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, CBS reported. In March, inspectors gave the officers the grade of “D” on their mastery of Minuteman III missile launch operations.

“We are, in fact, in a crisis right now,” said the base commander, Lt. Col. Jay Fields, in an email obtained by The Associated Press. He also said the unit was experiencing “rot” in its ranks, AP reported.

Air Force strips 17 officers of power to launch nuclear missiles – Washington Times

This is just too good. The Obama administration is gutting the US nuclear arsenal, and what’s left can’t be launched due to incompetence and rot.

North Korea missile can hit US with nuclear warhead, Pentagon report says

Posted by on May 3, 2013 Comments Off

North Korea’s 950,000-troop military remains dangerous as Pyongyang’s long-range Taepodong-2 missile can reach parts of the United States with a nuclear warhead, according to a Pentagon report made public on Thursday.

The report said North Korea’s Taepodong-2, last used as a satellite launcher, is continuing to be developed as a long-range missile. The missile “could reach parts of the United States if configured as an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a nuclear payload,” the 26-page report says.

In Range | Washington Free Beacon