New Pentagon leaders-to-be: DoD announces raft of high-level Biden nominations
In addition to the official notice for the next leader of the Marine Corps are nominations for the Missile Defense Agency, US Cyber Command, the DIA and others.
Missile Defense Agency details evolving, ‘incremental’ vision for Guam air defenses
“[It] is an incremental path. There is no end state,” according to MDA chief Vice Adm. Jon Hill, who noted the military would "beautify" incoming platforms to make them more palatable to locals.
This Is Not The ICBM You Are Looking For; Detailed Analysis Of North Korean Missile
North Koreans are showmen: large 16-wheeled off-road trucks carrying missiles through the streets of Pyongyang are all about showing the ‘American Bastards’ that North Korea has credible road-mobile ICBMs. The ‘Young General,’ as Kim Jong-Un likes to style himself, has even claimed those ICBMs can threaten San Diego, Texas and Washington DC. American leaders have […]
North Korea Threat Worsening; No Time to Rest: MDA
CAPITOL HILL: The Missile Defense Agency is still basking in the glow of last month’s successful shoot-down of an ICBM target but it will not get complacent in the face of North Korea‘s steady rounds of provocative missile tests, MDA Director Vice Adm. James Syring assured the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces yesterday. […]
Missile Defense Test ‘Realistic,’ Syring Insists
PENTAGON: Yesterday’s $244 million missile defense test didn’t just hit an IBCM-like target for the first time in the history of the system: It hit a cutting-edge IBCM modeled on future North Korean weapons, complete with decoys to confuse defenders. “It actually replicated — without getting into classified details — an operational scenario that we’re […]
GMD Missile Defense Hits ICBM Target, Finally
WASHINGTON: Two days after North Korea’s latest missile launch, the US conducted a successful test of its homeland missile defense system for the first time in almost three years. Codenamed FTG-15, today’s event was also the system’s first test ever against an “ICBM-class” target, as opposed to lesser surrogates, the Missile Defense Agency announced. The painful […]
New Missile Defense Radar Passes Key Stage: Lockheed LRDR
As anxiety rises over North Korean rocket tests, the Missile Defense Agency needs better radar to tell threats apart. Which of those distant blips is an InterContinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) warhead capable of hitting the US? Which is a burnt-out rocket boaster coasting harmlessly through space? Which is a decoy warhead designed to make MDA […]
Raytheon Wins MDA Gallium Nitride Radar Deal: Companies Shift To GaN
ARLINGTON: Two recent contracts make clear the military radar industry is shifting to a new gold standard, a once-obscure material called Gallium Nitride. GaN, a high-efficiency semiconductor, makes radar transmitters much more powerful without using more electricity. Industry consultant Loren Thompson once told us it was “the biggest thing since silicon.” Just in time for […]
Missile Defense R&D Getting Short Shrift: CSIS
UPDATE MDA Deputy says transfer talks with services “making progress” WASHINGTON: Long-range R&D for missile defense is being squeezed by near-term needs, warns a new report from the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The problem? The duties of the Missile Defense Agency keep expanding even as its budget shrinks. CSIS’s solution? Reform MDA in either […]