Tag Archives: U.S. Northern Command

NORTHCOM: U.S. Needs New Ballistic Missile Interceptor by 2028 to Keep Pace with North Korea

NORTHCOM: U.S. Needs New Ballistic Missile Interceptor by 2028 to Keep Pace with North Korea

Kim Jong Un in front of a the North Korea intercontinental ballistic missile. KCNA Photo

The United States needs to deploy its Next Generation Interceptor by 2028 or sooner to keep pace with North Korea’s accelerating ballistic missile program, most recently demonstrated in Pyongyang’s successful test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday, Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Read More

MDA: Test of DDG, Standard Missile-3 IIA a Good Start, But More Work Needed on Homeland Defense Mission

MDA: Test of DDG, Standard Missile-3 IIA a Good Start, But More Work Needed on Homeland Defense Mission

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 Missile Defense Agency proved that a Navy destroyer with a Standard Missile-3 Block IIA can stop a simple intercontinental ballistic missile threat, but more work remains to prove whether this combination could contribute to homeland defense, the MDA director said Wednesday. Read More

NORAD: Russians Stay in Airspace ‘For Hours’ During Flight Operations Near Alaska

NORAD: Russians Stay in Airspace ‘For Hours’ During Flight Operations Near Alaska

An F-22 Raptor assigned to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson intercepts a Russian Tu-95 Bear on June 9, 2020. US Air Force Photo

This story has been updated to distinguish between Gen. Glen VanHerck’s role leading North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

The Russian military is spending “hours” in airspace near Alaska when it performs flyovers in the region, the head of North American Aerospace Defense Command said on Wednesday.
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Pentagon Announces Nominees to Lead INDO-PACOM, Pacific Fleet

Pentagon Announces Nominees to Lead INDO-PACOM, Pacific Fleet

Adm. John Aquilino, Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet speaks during the 79th Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day ceremony at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii. US Navy Photo

U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. John Aquilino is the Biden administration pick to be the next head of all U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific, the Pentagon announced on Saturday. Read More

As Russian Submarines Lurk, 2nd Fleet Conducting Tougher Training of East Coast Ships

As Russian Submarines Lurk, 2nd Fleet Conducting Tougher Training of East Coast Ships

U.S. Marines with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) and Sailors with the Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON) 8 provide security for the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) during Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) in the Atlantic Ocean on Oct. 22, 2019. US Marine Corps Photo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. 2nd Fleet is having deploying units test out new complex tactics on their way across the Atlantic, with each of these so-called Fleet Battle Problems contributing to an overall maturation of the concepts the Navy would use in a peer adversary fight, the commander said on Tuesday. Read More

Scores of Well-Meaning Aviators Clogging Skies Over the Bahamas as Dorian Victims Struggle

Scores of Well-Meaning Aviators Clogging Skies Over the Bahamas as Dorian Victims Struggle

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew surveys the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas on Sept. 7, 2019. US Coast Guard Photo

NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS — With 700 islands spread over 180,000 square miles of bright blue ocean, it’s difficult to imagine the airspace over the Bahamas becoming crowded. But so many U.S. military, government, private and other aircraft have flown to the rescue in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian that the skies are “tight,” according to one Coast Guard pilot. Read More

USS Bataan, 26 MEU Join Coast Guard for Aid Mission in the Bahamas a Week After Dorian

USS Bataan, 26 MEU Join Coast Guard for Aid Mission in the Bahamas a Week After Dorian

Coast Guardsman passes water to those affected by Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas on Sept. 8, 2019. Coast Guard Photo

Due to source error, the post was updated to reflect the current number of Army and Navy helicopters operating in The Bahamas.

THE PENTAGON – Over the weekend, amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5) joined the international effort delivering supplies, transporting U.S. relief personnel and providing medical evacuations from the Bahamas a week after Hurricane Dorian slammed into the island nation. Read More

U.S. Warship Shadowing High-End Russian Frigate Near Cuba

U.S. Warship Shadowing High-End Russian Frigate Near Cuba

New Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov in late 2014.

This post has been updated with a statement from U.S. Nothern Command.

A U.S. destroyer is off the coast of Havana, Cuba, shadowing a detachment of Russian naval ships that includes one of the country’s most advanced surface ships, USNI News has verified. Read More