Free Republic

A revolutionary missile that can stalk a target until the perfect moment to strike is being developed by the Ministry of Defence for use against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The so-called lurker bomb will also be able to shadow British troops for up to ten hours or 100 miles, ready to take out enemy targets with surgical precision at a minute’s notice. The 12ft weapon – officially named Fire Shadow and made in Britain by leading missile manufacturer MBDA – will be operated by the Royal Artillery. It made its first test flight in Wales earlier this year and is...

A U.S. missile attack by a pilotless drone killed at least six people on Thursday, including 3 Arabs, in a Pakistani tribal region regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, an intelligence official said. The target was a house in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days, according to an intelligence official in the region.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) – A suspected U.S. drone fired a missile on Thursday into Pakistan's North Waziristan, a tribal region on the Afghan border regarded as a safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants, a Reuters witness said. "It was a huge blast," said the journalist, who saw and heard the explosion from the rooftop of his house in Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, shortly after 10:00 p.m. (1600 GMT). The target was in Tappi, a village 20 km east of Miranshah that has been hit before in recent days. "The drone is still flying in the...

/snip South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Kim Tae-young told a parliamentary committee Wednesday that he believes the North "has been pushing to develop a small warhead to be mounted on a missile." Kim was quoted as saying by his office that it is unclear whether the North has already manufactured such a small nuclear warhead. North Korea, which conducted an underground nuclear test in 2006, maintains a stockpile of plutonium believed to be sufficient to produce about a half dozen bombs. /snip

Intelligence: N.Korea to Test New Missile Listen OCTOBER 02, 2008 08:48 North Korea has made a sweeping renovation of its old launch pad for intercontinental missiles on its east coast and is preparing to test a new long-range missile, government sources in Seoul said yesterday. Pyongyang is also reportedly restoring a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, North Hamkyong Province, where the North conducted its first nuclear test two years ago. The Seoul sources said old launch facilities for Taepodong missiles have been replaced with new ones, and the missile base in Musudan-ri is being upgraded. North Korea test-fired a long-range...

MINOT, N.D.—An Air Force supervisor says a Minot Air Force Base officer admitted taking a missile launch control device as a souvenir because he thought it would be "a cool thing to have."

From the first Presidential Debate in Oxford, Mississippi last night, Barack Obama changes direction on missile defense quicker than an "unproven" defensive interceptor. But while he flipped in the right direction, is this Change You Can Believe In?

NKorea may already have nuclear warheads: ex-CIA official 11 hours ago TOKYO (AFP) — North Korea has likely mastered the technology for arming its missiles with nuclear warheads, a former US intelligence official said Friday. "The fact that they have a warhead that's fitable to the Rodong (ballistic missile) is pretty much given," said Arthur Brown, who until 2005 was National Intelligence Officer for East Asia at the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). "We (the United States) went from nothing to missile capable in seven years. The Russians went from their first test to missile capable in six... Why do...

North Korea tests missile engine at new site: report 1 hour, 45 minutes ago North Korea has conducted an engine ignition test for a long-range missile at a new launch base under construction near its west coast, a South Korean intelligence source was quoted as saying on Tuesday. The report came after security concerns were raised last week by speculation the North's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il may have suffered a stroke and that the country was nearing completion of a new launch site capable of firing missiles that could hit all of South Korea and most of Japan. "North Korea's...

WASHINGTON -North Korea has quietly built a long-range missile base that is larger and more capable than an older and well-known launch pad for intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to independent analysts relying on new satellite images of the site and other data. Analysts provided images of the previously secret site to The Associated Press. Construction on the site on North Korea's west coast began at least eight years ago, according to Joseph S. Bermudez, Jr., senior analyst with Jane's Information Group, and Tim Brown with Talent-keyhole.com, a private satellite imagery analysis company. Bermudez first located the site in early spring...

"Missile Offense" in today's Wall Street Journal (September 10, A14) reports that Poland, at considerable risk to its own safety, has agreed to the installation of ten American interceptor missiles whose purpose is to shoot down Iranian weapons of mass destruction. Vladimir Putin's new Russian Empire has fabricated a complaint that these missiles somehow threaten Russia, even though they are totally defensive and cannot even stop more than a fraction of Russia's still formidable strategic nuclear arsenal. The Poles have nonetheless stuck to their decision, and it is now up to us to show whether we are worthy of their...

Pentagon notifies US Congress of missile sale to India WASHINGTON: The Pentagon said on Tuesday it has notified the US Congress of a possible sale to India of two dozen Harpoon air to ground anti-ship missiles. Such a deal would be worth as much as 170 million dollars, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said. "India intends to use the Harpoon missiles to modernize its air force anti-surface warfare mission capabilities and improve its naval operational flexibility," the agency said in a statement. Boeing would be the prime contractor. The 84L Harpoon Block II missiles are designed primarily as satellite guided...

Taiwan plans to mass-produce ship-to-ship missiles to boost its naval defences against China, the United Evening News reported Friday. The defence ministry has set aside more than US 71.75 million to manufacture the locally-designed Supersonic Hsiung-feng 3, the United Evening News said. The defence ministry declined to comment on the report. Analysts say the Hsiung-feng 3 can be fitted with a variety of guidance systems and can function as a ship-to-ship, land-attack or anti-radar missile. With a range of at least 130 kilometres, the missile has been designed to counter China’s Russia-made equivalent, analysts say.

N. Korea says it can launch satellites anytime SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Sunday celebrated the 10th anniversary of the launch of Taepodong-1, the communist state's first self-claimed satellite rocket, declaring that it can do the same anytime. Taepodong-1 is a three-stage intermediate-range ballistic missile developed in North Korea and currently in service. The missile was derived originally from the Scud rocket and can allegedly serve as both a nuclear delivery system and a space launch vehicle. On Aug. 31, 1998, North Korea proudly announced that it had successfully launched its first satellite Kwangmyoungsong into orbit by...

Today, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev stated clearly how Russia will respond to a U.S. missile defense shield in Europe: We will have to react somehow, to react, of course, in a military way. No “every option is on the table,” or “this will change the nature of our response.” Instead, it’s military action, “of course.” It’s those two words that indicate, if any further indication was necessary, that Moscow is not behaving in accordance with the geopolitical rules that govern reasonable actors. One must remember several things, here. First (and this is routinely ignored by Charles Schumer and others who...

Syria Expected to Reach Arms Deals 22 August 2008 By Oleg Shchedrov / Reuters SOCHI — Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad backed Russia's military action against Georgia at talks with President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday that were expected to cover purchases of Russian arms. A diplomatic source in Moscow told Interfax on Wednesday that Russia and Syria were preparing a number of deals involving anti-aircraft and anti-tank missile systems. Syria, a foe of Israel in the Middle East that stands accused by the United States of supporting international terrorism, became only the second country after Belarus to voice public backing for...

Missile Defense Agency director, announced today that testing of a key propulsion system component for the Agency’s Multiple Kill Vehicle-L (MKV-L) payload has been successfully completed. During an engagement with the enemy, this high-performance propulsion system maneuvers the carrier vehicle and its cargo of kill vehicles into the threat complex to intercept the targets. This technology will negate more advanced countermeasures that could be aboard hostile ballistic missiles. In the event of an enemy launch, a single interceptor equipped with this payload destroys not only the re-entry vehicle but also all credible threat objects,including countermeasures the enemy deploys to try...

A top Russian general said Friday that Poland's agreement to accept a US missile defense battery exposes the country to attack, pointing out that Russian military doctrine permits the use of nuclear weapons in such a situation, the Interfax news agency reported. *** Interfax said he added, in clear reference to the agreement, that Russia's military doctrine sanctions the use of nuclear weapons "against the allies of countries having nuclear weapons if they in some way help them." Nogovitsyn said that would include elements of strategic deterrence systems, according to Interfax.

A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter aircraft fired the newest variant of Raytheon's Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile May 22 as part of developmental testing. The AIM-120D AMRAAM passed well within lethal range of the QF-4 target drone. The missile destroyed the target and met all primary test objectives. "There is no missile in development or in any air force's inventory that can even come close to matching what the AIM-120D can do." "The AIM-120D will enable our men and women in uniform to maintain air superiority, regardless of the threat."

<p>HAIKU, Hawaii - Cheryl Gowadia couldn't figure out why FBI agents in riot gear, guns drawn, were storming her home on Maui's tranquil North Shore. At first, she thought they might be after the man building a pond in her backyard. Instead, she was stunned to learn they wanted to question her husband, a former B-2 stealth bomber engineer.</p>

>font size=4>Military Superiority: China has embarked on an ambitious anti-ship missile program designed to sink American carriers. Unfortunately, due to underspending on defense, we have an anti-ship program all our own.China is developing at least three different anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) designed to take out American carriers coming to Taiwan's defense and may be willing to shop them around to rogue states such as Venezuela and Iran, according to Richard Fisher, a specialist on the Chinese military. Fisher, vice president of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, says two of the missiles are based on the CSS-5, also known as...

Q&A With Christopher Pang, a Middle East Analyst Who Specializes in International Defense Iran test-fired nine missiles today and warned the United States and Israel that it was capable of retaliation against an attack over its disputed nuclear projects. Although the United States has urged Tehran to stop further tests, Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are directed solely at generating electricity. (ABCNews.com) Christopher Pang is the Middle East analyst for the London-based Royal United Services Institute, or RUS, an organization that studies international defense and security. ABC News asked Pang about the implications of Iran's test. How significant was today's...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2008 – Iran’s test of short- and medium-range missiles is a disturbing development and points to the need for a European missile defense system, Pentagon officials said here today. Iran tested at least seven missiles yesterday, according to news reports, capable of hitting Israel and parts of Europe. “Iran’s development of ballistic missiles is a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and completely inconsistent with Iran's obligations to the world,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said to reporters traveling with President Bush in Japan. “The Iranians should stop the development of ballistic missiles, which could be used...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran test fired nine long- and medium-range missiles on Wednesday, state media said, including one which it has said could reach Israel and U.S. bases in the region. The tests occurred at a time of increased tension between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at making bombs. Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, says its program is only for electricity. A New York Times report in June said Israel had practiced an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, and the tension has rattled financial markets. U.S. and London Brent crude...

By CINDY HORSWELL Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Recommend (2) Comments (63) Yahoo! Buzz RESOURCES A Continental airliner might have been only a minute away from colliding with what the pilot described as a model rocket that shot past his cockpit window, Federal Aviation Administration records obtained by the Houston Chronicle show. On Memorial Day, the Continental pilot reported being startled by his encounter with this object that "went straight up" and left a long white vapor trail.

India, Russia develop airborne supersonic cruise missile 16:49 | 20/ 06/ 2008 NEW DELHI, June 20 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-Indian BrahMos Aerospace joint venture has finished the development of the airborne version of an advanced supersonic missile, the company's managing director has said. Established in 1998, BrahMos Aerospace designs, produces, and markets supersonic missiles, whose sea-based and land-based versions have been successfully tested and put into service with the Indian Army and Navy. "For the airborne version...we had to reduce the mass of the missile and to ensure aerodynamic stability after its separation from the aircraft. The air-launched platform...

The New York Times reported last week that Israel carried out a major military exercise in early June that appears to be a rehearsal “…to develop the military’s capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran’s nuclear program.” More than 100 Israeli warplanes -- including F-16 and F-15 fighters, refueling tankers and helicopters for pilot rescue - participated in the maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean. The message of the exercise, concludes the Times, was that Israel is prepared to act militarily if diplomatic efforts fail to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Such an...

Excerpt - ISLAMABAD -- (UPDATE) At least 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed and nine were wounded when a missile fired from Afghanistan hit their border post early on Wednesday, security officials told Agence France-Presse. The incident happened after fierce clashes between Pakistani paramilitary troops deployed in the Mohmand tribal region and Afghan forces who claimed the area was part of their territory, the Pakistani officials said. "Sometime after midnight a missile fired from the Afghan side struck our post resulting in the martyrdom of at least 10 soldiers including a commanding officer. Nine soldiers were wounded," one security official said....

A pilotless US drone was suspected to have fired a missile into a Pakistani area on the Afghan border on Tuesday, but there was no word on the target or casualties, a government official said, reported The Washington Post, quoting a new agency. The missile was thought to have been fired into the Mohmand tribal area in northwest Pakistan where this year, US-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least four sites used by Al-Qaeda operatives, killing dozens of suspected militants. "There was an attack by a spy plane close to the Afghan border but we don't have information about casualties...

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The garden is in full bloom at Abdul Qadeer Khan's house. A lazy summer haze has settled over his manse, and at the small police substation across the way, several men chitchatted amiably on a recent day, barely glancing at the upscale villa that for the past four years has been part prison, part palatial refuge for the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb. Until very recently, Khan has been virtually cut off from the world -- banished to house arrest by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf after admitting in a national television broadcast in 2004 to selling nuclear...

North Korea fired short-range missiles off coast-Yonhap 31 May 2008 04:35:18 GMT Source: Reuters By Jon Herskovitz SEOUL, May 31 (Reuters) - North Korea fired three short-range missiles off its west coast on Friday, the South's Yonhap news agency cited government officials as saying, on a day Pyongyang's media also launched a tirade of abuse at President Lee Myung-bak. "... it appears the firing of the missiles was part of a regular exercise to check the performance," Yonhap quoted an unnamed South Korean Defence Ministry as saying on Saturday. A similar launch in March riled regional tensions and was seen...

No hobby clubs had requested or been granted clearance to launch high-powered model rockets on Memorial Day when a Continental Airlines pilot reported seeing such an object zoom past his cockpit window, authorities said Tuesday. The FBI and Federal Aviation Administration continued to review the radar history of Flight 1544, which departed with 148 passengers from George Bush Intercontinental Airport at 10:17 a.m. Monday. The flight's crew, en route to Cleveland, Ohio, spotted an object with a white vapor trail about eight miles northeast of Houston's airport. While the data is still under review, FBI spokesman Rich Kolko of Washington,...

HOUSTON -- Federal officials are working to find out just what happened in the sky over Houston this morning. Continental Flight 1544 was 11 miles east of Bush Intercontinental Airport after takeoff this morning, when the pilot called the tower to report an object near the plane. The plane was at about 5,000 feet at the time of the report and the flight continued on to Cleveland. Sources told 11 News that the flight was met by Continental officials and FAA investigators to interview the passengers and crew.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that an independent command could be created within in his force to strengthen the country's missile programme, the Fars news agency reported.

(IsraelNN.com) IDF soldiers uncovered missiles and anti-tank rocket launchers in a Gaza schoolyard in late Thursday. The anti-tank missile launcher and a stack of missiles were found at a school in Sajaiya, in northern Gaza, during routine counter-terrorism operations. ) The Israel Air Force reports hitting two members of a terror cell carrying anti-tank weapons in southern Gaza, after an IDF soldier was moderately wounded in a firefight with terrorists in the area early Friday morning. The soldier was struck down when terrorists fired anti-tank shells at the troops. He was airlifted to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva. Soldiers...

(IsraelNN.com) Arab terrorists in Gaza fired two Grad Katyusha missiles at southern Ashkelon late Wednesday afternoon, and one rocket scored a direct hit on a children's medical clinic inside a shopping center. Parts of the building collapsed, trapping four people for a half-hour. At least 94 people had been rushed to Barzilai Medical Center by 8:30 p.m., most suffering severe post-traumatic stress reactions. A spokesman for the local Fire Department stated that the powerful rocket hit the building's 3rd floor and crashed down to the floor below. He said the firefighters rescued four people - including a little girl -...

New Delhi: With a second successful test of the 3,500 km intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM), Agni-III, already in the bag, Indian defence scientists are planning to test a long range 5,000 km, IRBM by the end of the year. According to Aviansh Chander, project director, the planning process for the test launch of the Agni-IV was in the final stages, now that the Agni-III had reached the stage of operationalisation. He indicated Monday that test flights could be scheduled for the end of the year, once government clearance was received. According to Chander, an intercontinental range of 5,000-km would...

WASHINGTON, May 11, 2008 – A U.S. Hellfire missile killed an insurgent near the site of a roadside-bomb attack in Baghdad’s Adhamiyah district today, U.S. military officials said. A vehicle was destroyed while another insurgent fled the scene. “Our soldiers, along with the Iraqi security forces, continue to meet with the local populace to identify these criminal elements and eliminate the threat they pose,” said Army Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a Multinational Division Baghdad and 4th Infantry Division spokesman. “We will continue to use precision fire to defend the Iraqi people and ourselves against these criminal elements.” In yesterday’s operations:...

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday entered a select club of nations possessing intermediate range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) with a range of up to 3,000 km, when it successfully test-fired, surface-to-surface nuclear-capable Agni-III missile. With this, the Indian security establishment has acquired the capability to hit targets deep inside China, including Beijing and Shanghai. The all-solid fuel missile took off from Wheelers Island off the coast of Orissa 9:56 am and achieved its full range and accuracy by reaching its pre-designated target in 800 seconds. ”The missile is now ready for induction,’’ visibly happy DRDO scientists said after the missile achieved...

  Monday's launch was carried live on state television India is well known today for its software and information technology industry.Less well known is that in a nation where more than 300 million people live on less than $1 a day, it is also a real force to reckon with when it comes to top class rocket and satellite technology. On Monday the Indian space agency created a world record by successfully launching 10 satellites in one go. That shattered the previous record of a Russian rocket that successfully launched eight satellites last year. Launching 10 satellites requires immense...

BANGALORE, India (AFP) — An Indian rocket blasted off and successfully launched a cluster of 10 satellites in a single mission Monday, marking a milestone for the country's 45-year-old space programme.The PSLV rocket lifted off at 9:20 am (0350 GMT) from the Sriharikota space station in southern India in clear weather, leaving behind a massive trail of orange and white smoke, on its 13th flight."The mission was perfect," G. Madhavan Nair, chairman of the Bangalore-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), said after the launch telecast live by the broadcaster Doordarshan. "Team ISRO has done it again.""It is a historic moment...

Iran Booted From Defense Show for Displaying Missile Systems April 24, 2008 The Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- Malaysia's deputy prime minister says Iran has been ordered to leave an international defense show in Kuala Lumpur. Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said Iranian firms exhibited missile systems at the Defense Services Asia show that were "offensive" and contravened U.N. resolutions. Najib told reporters Thursday that Malaysian authorities had "no option" but to tell Iran to leave. The annual show began Monday with hundreds of exhibitors from about 50 nations.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Iran has been kicked out of an international defense show in Malaysia for exhibiting missile equipment in violation of U.N. rules, an official said Thursday. Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said Iranian companies were ordered out of the Defense Services Asia show Tuesday because their exhibition was deemed "offensive."

In the movie "Armageddon," Bruce Willis and company jury-rig a nuclear bomb in spectacular seat-of-their pants fashion to break up a colossal asteroid before it hits the Earth and kills everything but the cockroaches. In real life, the United States military pulled off a slightly less ambitious mission -- shooting down a dying spy satellite late Wednesday -- but for similar stakes, the elimination of a threat to human life posed by 1,000 lbs. of deadly rocket fuel on board the crippled bird. Or so the official story line goes. A U.S. Navy Aegis cruiser, the Lake Erie, launched an...

/begin my translation N. Korea: Indication of another missile test (Kyodo News) U.S. "spotted training activities at a base near Pyongyang" According to Apr. 13 dispatch of Kyodo News, U.S. military intelligence has picked up lots of movements in a recent few days near a missile launch base at Shinori located to the N. West of Pyongyang. It reported that U.S. spy satellite has been watching over the N. Korean movements, which also spotted their training activities at the base. U.S. military has not determined what these activities are for, but some suspect that N. Korea is preparing for...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian concerns over Washington's plan for a missile shield in Europe will only be eased if Russian officers have permanent access to the shield facilities, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday. Russia says the planned shield is a threat to its own security and the row over the issue has helped to drive diplomatic relations with the United States to their lowest point since the Cold War. Moscow has, however, agreed to consider a set of confidence-building measures proposed by Washington to allay Moscow's concerns. "In all these many proposals we are interested only in two...

The expulsion of South Korean officials from the Kaesong Industrial Complex on March 27th, along with the test firing of short range missiles into the West Sea on March 28th is causing many in the South to ask questions. North Korea fired three Surface to Surface missiles with a range of 46km into the West Sea at 10:30 A.M. It has been 9 months since the test firing of the KN-02 missile with a 120km range, which occurred three times in May - June, 2007. This missile test appears to be general military training because the North Korean naval winter...

N.K. test-fires missiles into West Sea: sources SEOUL, March 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea test-fired several missiles into the sea off the country's west coast Friday, sources here said. The test, believed to be of Russian Styx missiles, comes one day after the communist nation threw out all South Korean government officials from the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North in apparent disgruntlement over the Lee Myung-bak government's hard-line North Korea policy.

US steps up missile strikes in Pakistan By Isambard Wilkinson in Islamabad Last Updated: 5:10pm GMT 27/03/2008 The United States has stepped up missile strikes against al-Qa'eda militants in Pakistan's tribal areas amid fears of decreased co-operation from the new government. Washington wants to inflict as much damage as it can on al-Qa'eda's network before President Pervez Musharraf loses his grip on power, according to a report published today. The US is using Predator drones to launch missiles Unnamed US officials told The Washington Post that the strikes followed a "tacit understanding" with Mr Musharraf and the army chief, Gen...