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 Pentagon is taking the first steps to provide Guam with a persistent, 360-degree...
Artist’s impression of future Japanese BMD ship. JSDF Photo
The Japanese Ministry of Defense released last week new details on Tokyo’s plan to build two ballistic missile defense warships to counter North Korean missiles.
On Dec. 23, the MoD released additional details on the two BMD ships Japan elected to procure after canceling two planned Aegis Ashore BMD batteries, reported Naval News.
“The document released by the MoD describes the need for two vessels to let the other AEGIS vessels focus on...
https://news.usni.org/2022/12/27/japanese-mod-releases-details-on-ballistic-missile-defense-ships
USS Monterey (CG 61) fires a Tomahawk land attack missile April 13, 2018 against land targets in Syria. US Navy Photo
The Japanese government is considering buying Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles from the United States to establish a “counterstrike” capability to deter enemy missile attacks, according to domestic press reports.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces could deploy Tomahawks faster than its own domestically produced long-range cruise missiles, according to public broadcaster NHK.
The...
JS Maya(DDG-179) in Port of Kobe, Japan on Nov. 23, 2020. JMSDF Photo
Japan’s Ministry of Defence is proposing to build a pair of ballistic missile defense ships – the among largest warships in the Japanese inventory since World War II – government officials said last week.
The Ministry of Defense listed design expenses and engines for the two Aegis BMD ships among 100 items requested that did not have a specific cost at the time of the budget rollout as part of its FY23 budget request. The...
Launch of a SM-6. US Navy Photo
Guam “would absolutely need” the Navy’s SM-6 missile for its defense against a hypersonic missile attack, the program executive for Aegis ballistic missile defense said Thursday.
Rear Adm. Tom Druggan called the SM-6 “our leading defense capability for hypersonic missile defense.” It is “a fantastic missile, just absolutely great missile” because of its versatility.
Speaking at the United States Naval Institute’s maritime security series at the Center for Strategic...
https://news.usni.org/2021/11/19/guam-needs-sm-6-missile-for-hypersonic-defense-navy-admiral-says
An M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System launches a Precision Strike Missile on Dec. 10, 2019, at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. US Army Photo
The Army “didn’t sneak out in the dead of night” to establish its own long-range fires regime to stay relevant in the Indo-Pacific, a missile defense analyst said on Wednesday.
Since the Obama administration, the Army has been developing technology for long-range strikes, an effort that has been anything but an “improper budget grab,” Thomas...
https://news.usni.org/2021/06/24/panel-all-services-need-long-range-strike-capabilities
USS Wayne E Meyer (DDG 108) departs Apra Harbor, Naval Base Guam after a planned port visit in 2018
. US Navy Photo
The U.S. will likely need to deploy a hybrid system to defend Guam due to its difficult terrain and the variety of missile threats it faces, the head of the Missile Defense Agency said this week.
Vice Adm. John Hill described Guam’s mountainous terrain as “a challenging place” to defend against ballistic, cruise or hypersonic missile threats.
“I don’t think anyone is going to be...
The new Naval Support Facility in Redzikowo, Poland, will be home to the Aegis Ashore Ballistic Missile Defense System(AABMDS) mission. Photo represents construction progress as of August 2019. US Navy Photo
The chief of naval operation’s new call to focus on sea control and power projection could lead the service to shed other non-core missions the Navy conducts today, such as manning Aegis Ashore missile defense sites.
The biggest problem is, no one else has agreed to take over that mission yet.
The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Sailors manning the Aegis Ashore Missile Defense Test Complex (AAMDTC) at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) at Kauai, Hawaii, successfully conducted Flight Test Integrated-03 (FTI-03). MDA photo.
The head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command told reporters today he wants the Aegis Ashore ballistic missile defense system to bolster the defense of Guam from Chinese missiles.
The Aegis Ashore Baseline 10 system should be “the backbone of [a] homeland defense...
Romanian Aegis Ashore site. U.S. Missile Defense Agency Photo
Japan has formally ended its plans to procure two Aegis Ashore missile defense sites, citing concerns that the booster on the Standard Missile-3 Block IIA interceptor missile couldn’t be guaranteed to land on military property instead of nearby civilian communities.
Defense Minister Taro Kono announced his intentions to pause the program on June 15. On Thursday, after speaking to the National Security Council chaired by Prime Minister...