An unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman IIIICBM was launched during an operational test at 3:33 a.m. Thursday 26th from Launch Facility-9 on Vandenberg Air Force Base. The missile was shot out of an underground silo and It was the second Minuteman launch from Vandenberg this week.
¿What means Minuteman III?
The LGM-30 Minuteman is a land-based intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), designed to deliver nuclear warheads.
The version LGM-30G Minuteman III is the only land-based ICBM in service in the United States.
Each missile carries three nuclear warheads, which have a yield in the range of 300 to 500 kilotons.
The letter “L” in “LGM” indicates that the missile is silo-launched; the “G” indicates that it is designed to attack ground targets; the “M” indicates that it is a guided missile.
Turkey said today in an official statement that it has "decided to begin talks with the CPMIEC company of the People's Republic of China for the joint production of the systems and its missiles in Turkey." Turkey wants to build its own long-range air defense and anti-missile architecture to counter both enemy aircraft and missiles. In January, NATO began deploying Patriot missile system batteries to help protect Turkey from any spillover of the conflict in neighboring Syria. The Patriot missiles, effective against aircraft and short-range missiles, were provided by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
The Sochi Olympics are adding six Pantsir-S short-range air defense systems for extra security.
They were delivered to the Russian military ahead of schedule to ensure security during the Winter Games beginning Feb. 7, a senior defense ministry official said, according to RIA Novosti.
The Pantsir-S is a combined gun-missile system featuring a wheeled vehicle mounting a fire-control radar and electro-optical sensor, two 30-mm cannons and up to 12 57E6 radio-command guided short-range surface-to-air missiles.
The system is designed to take on various targets flying at low level, including cruise missiles and aircrafts, and can effectively engage targets at up to 20 km.
An LGM-30 Minuteman rocket, also known as a Minuteman III, was successfully launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base, at 3:01 PDT.
The letter “L” in “LGM” indicates that the missile is silo-launched
The “G” indicates that it is designed to attack ground targets
The “M” indicates that it is a guided missile
Under a full moon, the rocket lifted off from Launch-Facility 10 (LF-10) which is Minuteman rocket launch silo complex at Vandenberg. The unarmed weapon was topped with a dummy warhead — typically a re-entry vehicle equipped with sensors to gather reams of data.
Another Minuteman test is scheduled for early Thursday 26th. Both tests are part of an ongoing program to collect data about the reliability and accuracy of the nation’s Minuteman 3 weapon fleet. A task force for both launches includes members from the 90th Missile Wing, F.E. Warren AFB, Wyo., and 91st Missile Wing, Minot AFB, N.D., officials said. They handle chores associated with readying and launching the weapons. The 576th Flight Test Squadron, which is based at Vandenberg, installs all the test-unique equipment on the weapons.
The ICBM was named Minuteman after the Revolutionary War’s Minutemen who were able to respond quickly to a threat during the war with England. The missile can be prepared and launched in minutes after a valid launch order has been issued and plans are to keep the missile in service until 2030. There are currently 450 Minuteman III missiles in silos located in Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming.
Troops from Colchester-based 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, fired four Javelin missiles, known for their accuracy and potency, at the Stanford Training Area (Stanta), near Thetford, on last Thursday 19th.
The firing was the culmination of a training course for the unit’s anti-tank platoon, which was the first to fire Javelin on operations in 2006 in Afghanistan. The missile is intended primarily to destroy tanks and light armoured vehicles, but also acts as an all-weather weapon against fixed defences, such as bunkers and buildings, and is operated and carried by a two-man crew.
The Moskva missile cruiser has joined warships in Russia’s task force in the eastern Mediterranean following a voyage from the Atlantic Ocean.
Russia’s naval task force in the eastern Mediterranean currently comprises 10 warships: the guided-missile cruiser Moskva, the destroyers Smetlivy and Admiral Panteleyev, the frigate Neustrashimy and the assault landing ships Nikolai Filchenkov, Peresvyet, Admiral Nevelskoi, Minsk, Novocherkassk and Alexander Shabalin.
Russia’s Pacific Fleet flagship, the Varyag missile cruiser, which left Vladivostok Wednesday on a tour-of-duty in the Indian Ocean, may join the Mediterranean task force later this year, if necessary, Navy sources told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
The Pentagon said on Friday it had finalized a contract worth nearly $4 billion with Lockheed Martin Corp. to supply additional missile defense equipment to the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
The deal involves Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system that is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in midair, according to the the Pentagon's daily digest of major weapons contracts.
The contract reflects growing confidence and demand for the missile defense system, said Riki Ellison, founder of the non-profit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
Engineers from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., played an important role in the successful intercept of a separating ballistic missile target with the second-generation Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense(BMD) Weapon System and two SM-3 Block IB guided missiles.
The APL team led system-level performance analysis and evaluation for Flight Test – Standard Missile-21(FTM-21). This operational test demonstrated the ability to fire a salvo of two SM-3 missiles to successfully engage an incoming ballistic missile target. The flight test was conducted by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy Sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie (CG 70).
At 2:30 p.m. (HST) on Sept. 18, a ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, on Kauai, Hawaii. Following the target launch, the USS Lake Erie detected and tracked the missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar. The ship's Aegis BMD Weapon System developed a fire control solution and fired a salvo of two SM-3 Block IB guided missiles to engage the target. The SM-3s maneuvered to a point in space and released their kinetic warheads. The kinetic warhead of the first missile acquired the target reentry vehicle, diverted into its path, and — using only the force of a direct impact — destroyed the target.
FTM-21 was the fourth consecutive successful intercept test of the SM-3 Block IB guided missile with the second-generation Aegis BMD Weapon System and SM-3 Block IB guided missile. This flight test improves the Aegis BMD flight test record to 27 successful intercepts in 33 attempts.
A surface-to-air version of the Vympel R-77 AAMwas displayed at the recent MAKS 2013 Moscow Air Show. The SAM system was developed jointly by Almaz-Antei and Tactical Missile Corp. (Russian acronym TRV). Housed in a container weighing 360 pounds, the weapon has a firing range greater than 10 miles and a ceiling of more than 30,000 feet. “A number of foreign customers have repeatedly asked us for this application of the missile,” said Boris Obnosov,TRV general director.
TRV specializes in cruise missiles with ranges up to 300 miles, and has a workforce of 40,000 serving in 25 different enterprises. The corporation’s rate of production will increase “by two to three times over the next five years” and “far more” by 2020, Obnosov said. The production increase is needed to support Russian armed forces’ modernization programs, with large Soviet stockpiles having been depleted by expiring lifetimes of legacy missile types.
Since MAKS 2011, TRV has completed state acceptance trials on “dozens” of new and modified missile types, Obnosov said. These have recently included the latest Kh-31XAD/PD version of the air-to-surface missile series. In addition, TRV has made “much progress” with new and reworked models of 250-kg, 500-kg and 1,500-kg guided bombs, Obnosov added. “These can come with thermal imagers, active radar heads and satellite [meaning Glonass/GPS] guidance….we have just completed work on the satellite weapon,” he said. TRV continues to use turbojet engines from Ukrainian supplier Motor-Sich, which Obnosov described as “a reliable partner.” However, TRV is increasingly using Russian-made engines from NPO Saturn, including the newest Item 64. One of its applications is the extended-range Kh-35U anti-ship missile.
India’s successful test-launch of the nuclear-capable, intercontinental, surface-to-surface ballistic missile, Agni-V on September 15, 2013, following the April 2012 launch of the 5,000 kms range version of the same Agni-5 by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is again a significant achievement.
DRDO’s inventory of missiles coupled with the versions of BrahMos missiles places India in the top league with China, France, Russia, the US, Britain and Israel. On February 19, 2013, BrahMos Aerospace celebrated “Aardhik Diwas” — Partnership Day — to commemorate 15 years of missile making. “BrahMos is a formidable weapon system. It has offered more punch and strike capability for the three services. We owe it all to Dr A.S. Pillai, CEO & MD, BrahMos Aeropsace and Dr A.G. Leonov, director general, NPOM. It is because of the zeal and enthusiasm of Dr Pillai that we have reached this stage,” remarked Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne, Air Chief and Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee.
Coined as a combination of Brahmaputra and Moscva rivers, this is a versatile supersonic cruise missile system launchable from submarines, ships, aircraft or land, which was successfully accomplished by 2006. At speeds of Mach 2.5 to 2.8, it is the world’s fastest cruise missile, about three and a half times faster than the American subsonic Harpoon cruise missile. BrahMos, with a maximum range of 290 km, can attack surface targets by flying as low as 10 metres over surface-level and can gain a speed of Mach 2.8. The ship-launched and land-based missiles can carry a 200 kg warhead, whereas the aircraft-launched variant, BrahMos A, can carry a 300 kg warhead. The high speed of the BrahMos likely gives it better target-penetration characteristics than lighter subsonic cruise-missiles such as the Tomahawk.
Being twice as heavy and almost four times faster than the Tomahawk, the BrahMos has more than 32 times the on-cruise kinetic energy of a Tomahawk missile, although it carries only 3/5th the payload and a fraction of the range despite weighing twice as much, which suggests that the missile was designed with a different tactical role. Its Mach 2.8 speed means that it cannot be intercepted by some existing missile defence systems and its precision makes it lethal to water targets or those in a cluster.
Main Milestones
2001
BrahMos was first test-fired on June 12, 2001 from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur, in a vertical launch configuration.
2008
On March 5, 2008, the land attack version of the missile was fired from the destroyer INS Rajput and the missile hit and destroyed the selected target amidst a cluster of targets.
The missile was vertically launched on December 18, 2008, from INS Ranvir.
2009
On March 4, 2009, BrahMos was tested again with a new navigation system, found successful and then test-fired yet again on March 29, 2009. For this test, the missile had to identify a building among a cluster of buildings in an urban environment. It successfully hit the intended target within two-and-a-half minutes of launch. What made a quantum difference was the new “seeker,” considered unique and capable of seeking targets, which may be insignificant in terms of size, in a cluster of large buildings. India is now the only nation in the world with this advanced technology. After the third test, the Indian Army confirmed that the test was extremely successful and approved the missile. This marked the completion of development phase of BrahMos Block-II.
2010
On March 21, 2010, BrahMos was test-fired and struck a free-floating ship piercing it above the waterline and destroying it completely. The test proved the missile’s manoeuvrability at supersonic speed before hitting a target, making India the first and only country to have a manoeuvrable supersonic cruise missile.
On September 5, 2010, BrahMos created a world record for being the first cruise missile to be tested at supersonic speeds in a steep-dive mode, achieving the Army’s requirement for land attacks with Block-II “advanced seeker software” along with “target discriminating capabilities.” BrahMos became the only supersonic cruise missile possessing advanced capability of selection of a particular land target amongst a group of targets, providing the user with an important edge of precision without collateral damage.
The Block III version of the missile was successfully test-fired on December 2, 2010, from ITR, Chandipur, with advanced guidance and upgraded software, incorporating high manoeuvres at multiple points and steep dive from high altitude. The steep dive capability of the Block III enables it to hit targets hidden behind a mountain range.
2011
On August 12, 2011, it was test-fired by ground forces and met all mission parameters.
2012
On March 4, 2012, it was test-fired by an Indian Army unit at the Pokharan range in Rajasthan to operationalise the second regiment of the weapon system in the Army. With this test, attended by top brass including vice chief Lt. Gen. Shri Krishna Singh and Director General Military Operations (DGMO) Lt. Gen. A.K. Chaudhary, the second BrahMos unit of the Indian Army became operational.
On October 7, 2012, the Indian Navy successfully test-fired BrahMos from the guided missile frigate INS Teg. This new highly manoeuvrable version was fitted with advanced satellite navigation systems turning it into a “super-rocket” capable of hitting targets over 300–500 km from sea, land and air launchers, and capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
2013
The submarine-launched variant of Brahmos was test fired successfully for the first time from a submerged pontoon near Visakhapatnam at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 20 March 2013. This was the first vertical launch of a supersonic missile from a submerged platform. The missile can be launched from a depth of 40 to 50 meters.
Future developments
The purchase of over 200 air-launched BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for the IAF was cleared by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on October 19, 2012, at the cost of `6,000 crore ($1 billion). This includes funds for the integration and testing of the BrahMos on IAF’s Su-30MKI. Two Su-30MKI modified by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at its Nashik facility where they will also be integrated with the missile’s aerial launcher. The trial is expected to be conducted in early 2014.
Under development is a smaller variant of the air-launched BrahMos, to arm the Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Mirage 2000, future induction like the 126 Dassault Rafale, and the Indian Navy’s MiG-29K. A model of the new variant was showcased on 20 February 2013, at the 15th anniversary celebrations of BrahMos Aerospace. This smaller version is three metres shorter than the present missile will also have a range of 290 km. The Sukhoi SU-30MKI will carry three missiles while other combat aircraft will carry one each. BrahMos is reportedly attempting a hypersonic Mach 8 version of the missile, BrahMos II, the first ever hypersonic cruise missile, expected to be ready soon. Former President of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has reportedly recommended to BrahMos Aerospace to develop an advanced hypersonic version of the BrahMos cruise missile to maintain India’s lead in the field.
Navy and Army missile-defense crews successfully intercepted two medium-range ballistic missile targets during a Sept. 10 test conducted in the western Pacific, near the Army's Kwajalein Atoll/Reagan Test Site.
The crew of the destroyer Decatur used its AN/SPY-1 radar to track one of the target missiles. Using its Aegis ballistic-missile defense system, the crew then launched a Standard Missile-3 Block IA missile to intercept the target. Additionally, soldiers attached to Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, used an AN/TPY-2 radar system and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) weapon system to find and track the missiles.
Using THAAD, the crew launched an interceptor missile, which caught and destroyed the second test missile target. The Missile Defense Agency, Ballistic Missile Defense System Operational Test Agency, Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and U.S. Pacific Command also played key roles in the successful test.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) will soon acquire a new surface-to-air missile system called the ASTER-30.
The ASTER-30 missile defence system against airborne threats is used by advanced militaries such as France and Italy, and is many times more potent than the current I-Hawk ground based air defence system.
In 2012, Congress demanded the Pentagon come up with recommendations for the location of a third site to base interceptors for the U.S. Ground Based Midcourse (GMD) missile defense system.
Friday 13th September,the Pentagon announced the locations of five candidate sitesfor a possible future deployment of additional GMD interceptors. They are:
Fort Drum, NY
Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Vermont
Naval Air Station Portsmouth SERE Training Area, Maine
Lt. Col. Michael S. Hatfield assumed command of the 49th Missile Defense Battalion last Wednesday 11th September in a ceremony at Fort Greely, where he had served seven years earlier. Hatfield served as a Brigade Missile Defense director in Colorado Spring, Colo., from 2010 to 2013.
India has conducted a second test firing of a nuclear-capable missile with a range of 5,000 kilometers.
Undoubtly, New Delhi is struggling to challenge Beijing in the race for missile dominance in Asia. "The country has established ICBM capability with the successful second test," said Avinash Chander, a scientific advisor to Defense Minister AV Antony, adding that the next launch would be canister-based.
'Agni-V' long-range ballistic missiles are about 17 meters long, with a diameter of 2 meters and a launch weight of about 50 tons, The Indian Express reported. The missile was test-fired from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha. Missile scientist and 'Agni 5' chief designer V.G. Sekaran said the test was an "overwhelming success and showed the reliability and maturity of the sub-systems," the Hindu newspaper reported.
The three-stage solid propellant missile was first successfully tested in April last year. Agni-V boasts a state-of-the-art Micro Navigation System, enabling the missile to hit the target to within a few meters. According to the spokesman for India’s Defence Research and Development Organization, Ravi Gupta, the missile will be included in the Indian Army’s arsenal by 2014-15. China has the world’s second-largest military budget behind the US, and is far ahead of India in nuclear weaponry, with intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching anywhere in India.
The Agni-V may be India'a answer to China's nuclear buildup. Earlier versions of its missiles could reach only old Pakistan and western China. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, China currently has some 250 nuclear missiles, while Pakistan holds between 100 and 120 missiles and India has between 90 and 110.The total number of nuclear missiles globally is estimated to have fallen from about 19,000 at the end of 2011 to about 17,265 warheads at the end of last year, thanks to the US and Russia reducing their stockpiles under bilateral arms control agreements, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said. Russia is believed to possess the largest inventory, with 8,500 warheads, just a little ahead of the 7,700 held by the US.
The U.S. military's revolutionary new anti-ship missile flew its first successful test flight, according to a release from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). What the U.S. currently lacks is a ship-killing missile with both the ability to be launched from far away and the technological capacity to elude enemy ship defenses. In 2009, DARPA began work on developing such a missile, and yesterday the Long Range Anti-Ship Missile conducted its first successful test. The missile was dropped from a B-1B Lancer, escorted by an F-18 Strike Eagle.
Trials of two new Russian nuclear submarines have been suspended after a submarine-launched ballistic missile malfunctioned, a defense official said.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry said a Bulava missile fired from the Alexander Nevsky submarine toward a test site in eastern Russia failed in the second minute of the test. Five other launches of the missiles also were put on hold, the spokesman said.
The Alexander Nevsky was scheduled to be put into operation Nov. 15, contingent on a successful launch of its ballistic missiles. Officially, eight of the 19 or 20 test launches of the Bulava missiles have been declared unsuccessful.
If President Barack Obama orders the strike on Syria that Congress is considering, the U.S. Navy will be at the forefront of an attack that has the unusual objective of degrading Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities without striking at the heart of the program. However, Pentagon planners are now considering to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by using Air Force bombers, as well as several US missile destroyers currently patrolling the eastern Mediterranean Sea, to launch cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles from far out of range of Syrian air defenses.
The USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group with one cruiser and three destroyers positioned in the Red Sea can also fire cruise missiles at Syria. The weapon of choice is the Tomahawk cruise missile aboard four Navy destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean. An operation in that range would likely be limited to the cost of launching missiles from U.S. destroyers cruising within range of Syria, according to budget analysts. The Tomahawk missiles aboard the ships, which generally carry dozens of them, cost about $1,1 ... 1,5 million each. The mission is among the most complex the U.S. military has launched in recent history because Syria will have had weeks to shield its most vulnerable targets from a widely anticipated volley of Tomahawk missiles.
As lawmakers continue to discuss the scope and risks of a strike, military planners are fine-tuning a plan to blast dozens of targets that include air defense infrastructure, long-range missiles, rocket depots and airfields, according to defense officials and military analysts. The six air bases the Syrian government is currently using to carry out the bulk of its military operations and its roughly two dozen stationary radars are likely targets of cruise missile strikes, according to military analysts who have studied Syria’s armed forces. Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers last week that the strikes would likely hit Syrian long-range missile and rocket depots because the weapons can be used to protect – and deliver – chemical weapons. The Navy has kept four Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers stationed within firing range of the Syrian coast for several days.
The ships – the USS Ramage, USS Barry, USS Gravely and USS Stout – are loaded with the latest generation of Tomahawk missiles. Tomahawks, which made their debut during the Gulf War in 1991, have been used in several military campaigns, often as the first salvos of protracted engagements. Raytheon, the defense giant that manufactures the missiles, has marketed them as an alternative to drones, which have become the weapon of choice in U.S. stealth counterterrorism attacks. “Unmanned aircraft seem to get all the headlines these days,” the company’s promotional website for Tomahawks says. “But the ship and submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missile – an unmanned aircraft that goes on a one-way trip – is quietly upping its game.”
Unlike earlier versions, today’s Tomahawks, which cost roughly $1,1 ... 1,5 million a piece, can be programmed quickly using GPS technology to strike targets and may be redirected midflight. The missile, which has a 1,000-mile range, can be airborne for up to four hours and deliver a 1,000 pound bomb or a package of 166 “bomblets.” The first would be ideal for a crushing blow to a critical building, while the latter would be effective against a wider area, such as a parking lots with military vehicles or a warehouse that contains weapons.
The hailstorm of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAMs) that is expected to rain down on Syria's bases and command-and-control centres - if President Barack Obama wins Congressional approval - would certainly hurt the jihadists' enemy, although perhaps not fatally: In preparation for the missile strikes - if and when they come - instructions have gone out online for rebel commanders and others to change their locations and not to gather in big groups or convoys. There is a specific fear of homing chips being attached to leaders' cars to guide incoming missiles as they are believed to have been in Pakistan's tribal areas and in the Gaza Strip.
