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Russia summoned Britain's defence attache in Moscow to explain reports that RAF pilots had been authorised to shoot down Russian aircraft in the Middle East, the Foreign Office says. Newspapers said RAF Tornados in Iraq had been fitted with heat-seeking missiles designed for aerial combat. But the Ministry of Defence said there was "absolutely no truth" in this. The Foreign Office said concern about Russian military action in Syria had been reiterated by the attache. Prime Minister David Cameron has previously said Russian military intervention in Syria is helping only to support "the butcher", President Bashar al-Assad. He has also...

Iran has test fired a new guided long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile, according to the country’s semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday. The report didn’t elaborate on the range of the missile or the specifics of the test firing. It said the new missile is precision guided and can be controlled until the moment of impact. “The Emad missile is able to strike targets with a high level of precision and completely destroy them.” Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan reportedly told Iran’s state news agency IRNA. Dehghan said the weapon would be deployed to missile units in the “near future.”

(CNN)—Iran has successfully test-fired a new long-range surface-to-surface missile, state-run IRNA reported on Sunday. The Emad (Pillar) missile, designed and built by Iranian experts, is the country's first long-range missile that can be precision-guided until it reaches its target, said Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehqan, Iran's defense minister. "To follow our defense programs, we don't ask permission from anyone," he said, according to IRNA. The new rocket is "capable of scrutinizing the targets and destroying them completely," IRNA reported. Improved accuracy Anthony Cordesman, a researcher at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in October last year that the Emad...

Forty-five soldiers from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were killed on Friday while taking part in a Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen against Houthi forces

N. Korea shows signs of missile tests SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is preparing for the test-firing of short and mid-range and ballistic missiles, a government source said Friday. "The North is showing signs of lifting off a Scud missile near Wonsan and a Rodong missile in the North Pyeongan Province," the source said, citing detection results of its joint radar system with the United States. "It seems that (the North) is weighing the timing of the firing under its strategic intention to increase military tension on the Korean Peninsula to the highest level," the source noted.

HONOLULU (AP) - The U.S. military says it has successfully tested an interceptor that can shoot down ballistic missiles as well as airplanes. The Missile Defense Agency said Monday the destroyer USS John Paul Jones tested the technology during a series of flight tests off the Hawaiian island of Kauai over the past week. Raytheon Missile Systems spokeswoman Heather Uberuaga says the tests used a modified version of the SM-6 missile the Navy already uses.

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea on Sunday test-fired three short-range missiles into the sea, South Korea's Defence Ministry said, weeks after claiming a successful submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test. The North fired three KN-01 missiles from a site near its eastern city of Wonsan, a ministry spokesman told AFP. "The missiles appear to have a range of nearly 100km," he said, adding the test lasted 26 minutes and began around 4.30pm. "We are closely monitoring the movements of the North's military and maintaining full readiness against potential provocations."

What happens if you put a 9-foot-long missile in the passenger seat of your convertible and drive for an hour on busy South Florida streets on the day the President of the United States is visiting? Nothing at all. “Some people were a little horrified, but nobody did anything,” Boca Raton businessman Tom Madden said. Madden drove from Dania Beach to Boca Raton on Thursday morning with the business end of an Israeli Air Force air-to-surface missile rising from the passenger seat of his topless Volvo. “I drove 35 miles an hour on U.S. 1 all the way,” Madden said,...

What goes up, must come down! Russian army’s rocket launch test goes terribly wrong when missile drops straight back down and explodes in front of them [Whole title.] S300 barely takes off before plunging back to the ground Minute-long clip shows people dashing for cover as rocket hits ground Mishap comes shortly after footage of crash killing missile engineers Embarrassing footage has emerged of a missile launch going spectacularly wrong in Russia. The minute-long clip shows the S300 rocket barely managing to take off before plummeting back down to earth. A small thud can be heard and bits of debris...

One of the most enduring symbols of the Cold War’s destructive potential is the intercontinental ballistic missile. But during the 1950s, the U.S. Force developed a strategic cruise missile known as the Snark. The Snark was highly unusual at the time. Almost forgotten today, the flying branch developed the missile as a nuclear-armed “pilotless bomber” that would herald a new era of robotic warfare.

Russia has lifted a ban on supplying Iran with a sophisticated air defence missile system, the Kremlin has said. Delivery of the S-300 system was cancelled in 2010 after the UN imposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme. But the Russian president gave the go-ahead after Tehran struck a deal with world powers curbing nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A team of Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test reentry vehicle today at 3:53 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The test reentry vehicle impacted in a pre-established test area in the Pacific Ocean near the island of Guam approximately 40 minutes after launch. All test launches verify the accuracy and reliability of the ICBM weapon system, providing valuable data to ensure a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent. The launch team, under the direction of the 576th...

Some five years ago Russia marketed a disturbing new missile product; the modularized "klub" missile in 3 variants; anti-ship, anti-sub and land attack. Fair enough, but the scary part was the innovative packaging --they were presented in the form of ready-to-fire units fully integrated into common shipping containers, complete with vertical launch system, booster unit with thrust vectoring, etc. Conceivably a totally innocuous-looking transport ship could be packing Armageddon, or close, and make it's hostile intentions detectable only at the last possible moment as it approached an unwitting target --the dream scenario of any bad actor. The Russians appear to...

DH-10 Launch Xinhui, via China Defense Forum This clear image of a TEL vehicle launching a DH-10 provides us with a detailed look at the cruise missile; while the tailfins have deployed, the air intake and wings have not. The debris is from the breaking open of the canister, while the short cylinder attached to the missile's rear is its integrated rocket booster that brings the missile into flight before the turbofan engine starts. A DH-10 land attack cruise missile (LACM) launches out of its canister, heading for parts unknown. Weighing about 1-1.5 tons (about the same size as the...

An antitank missile has been fired at an IDF vehicle from the Har Dov area (Shebaa Farms) in a Hezbollah ambush Wednesday morning, and there are reportedly seven casualties, who are receiving treatment. A helicopter has been taking casualties to a hospital. The IDF is certain that none of its soldiers was abducted. Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for the attack, through journalist Rassan Ben Jiddo, who is close to the terrorist militia. ZAKA emergency services initially said that three people were hurt. The IDF spokesman said that an antitank missile was fired at an IDF vehicle that was moving along...

It's fair to assume that question was on the minds of many people who traveled along Colo. 128 south of Boulder this week if they happened to catch a glimpse of what appeared to be a large, silver projectile perched alongside the highway and pointed north toward town.

The KH-35U Uran Russia’s principal new defense product is the winged KH-35U Uran missile. Its special feature is its unique self-guided head, which is immune to enemy radar interference. It works in two modes: active, when the missile turns on its guiding head for a split second to find the target, and passive, when it does not scan the space around it to detect the target, but merely perceives the impulses emitted by the target. The Americans were very interested in this characteristic and wanted to purchase KH-35U self-guided missile heads for their Harpoon anti-ship missiles. The KH-35U attacks the...

The Osprey has always lacked firepower in its forward hemisphere. Beyond its ramp-mounted gun, various concepts have been tested and fielded in an attempt to provide fire towards where the aircraft is headed, not just where it has been. This issue is compounded by the fact that the Osprey outruns traditional helicopter gunship escorts, but a solution may have finally arrived. Now, the Bell and Boeing consortium that manufacturers the Osprey is looking to overcome this handicap in a big way, through rocket and missiles pods mounted on the Osprey's cheeks. The results of which could change the way the...

Members of both the Syrian government and opposition rebel groups claim Israel attacked targets near Damascus Sunday night. The report came from the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, affiliated with the terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to the report, Israel struck Hezbollah drones and anti-missile batteries at an air base and at the Damascus International Airport. Israel refuses to confirm or deny, saying it doesn't comment on foreign reports. But some analysts believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu telegraphed a warning earlier Sunday when he noted at the weekly cabinet meeting that "a great deal is happening in the Middle East."...

The Russian Navy on Friday successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile for a second time in as many months, proving its reliability following a troublesome development. The Defense Ministry said the Alexander Nevsky nuclear submarine test-fired a Bulava missile from an underwater position in the Barents Sea. The missile's warheads reached designated targets at a testing range in Russia's far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The Bulava suffered many failures during a decade of tests, raising doubts about the fate of Russia's most expensive and ambitious weapons program since the Soviet collapse. But a series of recent launches has been successful...