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Pakistan tests nuclear-capable Ra’ad air-launched cruise missile Pakistan has conducted a successful test firing of the indigenously developed Hatf-VIII (Ra'ad) air launched cruise missile. The missile has a range in excess of 350km (217miles) and can deliver both conventional and nuclear warheads "with pin point accuracy", Pakistan's ministry of defence said in a statement. It added that the missile is a "low altitude, terrain hugging missile with high manoeuvrability". The missile was developed by Pakistan's Air Weapons Complex and the National Engineering and Scientific Commission. Media reports from Pakistan suggest that the Ra'ad will be employed on Pakistan air force...

Russia announced a new stealthy cruise missile for their heavy bombers and whatever emerges from the effort to develop something to compete with the American F-22 and F-35. The Russian announcement said little more, declaring that details of the new missile were classified. That was probably to avoid embarrassment, as the Russians have been having a hard time completing missile designs that were halted at the end of the Cold War (1991) because there was no more money. One of these missiles was the Kh-102, a stealthy development of the Cold War era Kh-55. The Kh-102 had been in development...

One of the important tests of Obama Administration’s nuclear non-proliferation policy will be whether the long-delayed Nuclear Posture Review will approve new nuclear weapons. During his election campaign, Barack Obama promised not to build new nuclear weapons, a pledge that recently has been reiterated by the administration. Yet the Air Force’s budget request for 2011 includes several projects that, if approved, would contradict the pledge. The “No New” Pledge During the presidential election campaign, Barack Obama pledge to “stop the development of new nuclear weapons” if elected president. The pledged lived on for the first few months after the election...

In addition to violently roiling the Air Force for months, the infamous “Minot Incident” of August 2007 did something else. It highlighted a new view of the future of nuclear-armed cruise missiles. That event saw B-52H bombers unwittingly fly operational Advanced Cruise Missiles from Minot AFB, N.D., down to Barksdale AFB, La. Mostly unremarked is that weapons were being taken south for decommissioning. The Defense Department is retiring the nuclear-armed AGM-129 ACM entirely. As a result of strategic nuclear arms treaty obligations, the Pentagon scrapped planned life extension programs for the ACM. DOD moved to eliminate the ACM entirely and...

China continues adapting its ground launched cruise missiles to operate from aircraft. The latest missile to get this treatment is the DH-10. This weapon is similar to early U.S. cruise missiles, and has a range of 1,500-3,000 kilometers and uses GPS, along with terrain mapping. The DH-10 was first shown publicly in the recent 60th anniversary (of the communists taking control of China) on October 1st.) The aircraft carried version is called the CJ-10. This is believed to be based on some American cruise missile technology. Earlier, China had taken the Russian Kh-31 air-to-ground missile (which they bought 200 of...

1) I've read on several sites that ALCMs and warheads are stored seperately. 2) Buffs haven't sat on the Tarmac loaded with Nuclear weapons ready to spank the russians/Chinese since the early 90s. My question is could some idiot back then have neglected to take the warheads off the missiles and Armed ALCMs sat in storage with rest of the unarmed ALCMs for 16 years?