Chinese DF-5B Nuclear Weapons. People’s Liberation Army Photo
The speed of China’s “unprecedented nuclear modernization” and its “build-out of a modernized triad” is the biggest concern for the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as he nears the end of his tenure. Read More
On Nov. 16, U.S. Missile Defense Agency and Navy sailors aboard USS John Finn (DDG 113), an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System-equipped destroyer, fired a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA guided missile that successfully intercepted and destroyed a mock Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) during a flight test demonstration in the broad ocean area northeast of Hawaii in November 2020. MDA photo.
The U.S. has several options to defend Guam against attack, the director of the Missile Defense Agency said this week, as the House Armed Service Committee wants more details on what exactly will be put in place against different threats and at what cost. Read More
A target missile was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, Hawaii during Flight Test Standard Missile-45. The USS JOHN FINN (DDG-113) detected and tracked the target missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar using the Aegis Baseline 9.C2 weapon system. Upon acquiring and tracking the target, the ship launched an SM-3 Block IIA guided missile which intercepted the target. Missile Defense Agency photo
This post has been updated to clarify comments from Gen. Glen VanHerck in Wednesday’s hearing.
The head of the Missile Defense Agency warned the House that a continuing resolution will leave gaps in testing and work on test ranges will “come to an all-stop” until the president signs a new budget into law, MDA director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said on Tuesday. Read More
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) sails behind the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mitscher (DDG 57), March 3, 2021. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct the spelling of the first name of the director of the Missile Defense Agency, Vice Adm. Jon Hill.
U.S. aircraft carriers are already facing risks from hypersonic weapons that are now entering the inventory of American adversaries and the Navy has developed early defenses for the threat, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said last week before the Senate. Read More
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Alberto Ramirez, an infantryman with 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division uses a communication system during Urban Advanced Naval Technology Exercise 2018 (ANTX18) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, March 19, 2018. Marines are testing next generation technologies to provide the opportunity to assess the operational utility of emerging technologies and engineering innovations that improve the Marine’s survivability, lethality and connectivity in complex urban environments. US Marine Corps photo.
The Navy – looking for flexibility when dealing with small, high-tech companies – is creating a “sandbox” to vet work from both the companies and the service, according to a Navy official. Read More
The launch of the Type 75 big-deck amphib in Shanghai. PLAN Photo
Questions about China’s defense spending, programs and systems – and the Pentagon’s response – dominated a Wednesday House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing on future U.S. defense spending trends. Read More
Chinese DF-26 missiles on display during a military parade in Tiananmen Square. Photo via globalsecurity.org
China, Russia, North Korea and Iran’s continued investment in modernizing cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles has left the United States “not in a very good position,” the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs said Tuesday. Read More
Eric Schmidt, technical advisor to the board of Alphabet Inc., which is the parent company of Google, speaks at a public meeting of the Defense Innovation Board in Austin, Texas March 5, 2020. DoD Photo
The chairman of a special commission on artificial intelligence warned Congress the United States is only one to two years ahead of China in developing artificial intelligence, as Beijing remains “relentlessly focused” on achieving dominance across the broad spectrum of high technologies. Read More
Sailors man the rails aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) in 2019 as the ship pulls into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. US Navy Photo
The Navy is taking steps to integrate its Zumwalt-class destroyers and its unmanned surface vessels into operational plans and will likely include both in a major Integrated Battle Problem exercise this spring. Read More
Members of the U.S. Fleet Forces Command’s Nuclear Examining Board ride a boat from the Ohio-class guided- missile submarine USS Georgia (SSGN-729), operating in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility toward Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota, Spain’s pier after an inspection. US Navy Photo
The Navy is on track to field a hypersonic strike weapon on submarines by 2025, the head of the Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs said today. Read More
