Free Republic

U.S. officials are on high alert for signs of a possible missile launch from North Korea in the coming days that officials have referred to as a “Christmas gift.” A significant launch or nuclear test would raise the end of North Korea's self-imposed moratorium on missile launches and tests. It would also be a major blow to one of President Trump’s major foreign policy goals to get North Korea back to the negotiating table to eliminate its nuclear weapons. In this Dec. 16, 2019, photo, South Korean army soldiers stand guard at the Unification Bridge, which leads to the Panmunjom...

Quickly and quietly, the People’s Republic of China is transforming itself into a 21st Century military superpower to be reckoned with. Case in point: China’s latest-generation Dong Feng (“East Wind”) intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-41, is months away from deployment. This newest nuclear missile, touted as the world’s longest-range missile, is reputedly capable of striking anywhere within the continental United States. Unlike its predecessors, the DF-41 will not be confined to stationary missile silos, but will be launched from mobile platforms. This formidable new weapon will probably be deployed to the People's Liberation's Army's (PLA's) Strategic Rocket Forces bases this...

India successfully tested a nuclear-capable ballistic missile from a ship near the east coast on Sunday, a defence official said. The Dhanush, which has a short range of 350 kilometres (220 miles), is a navy version of the surface-to-surface Prithvi missile and can carry both nuclear and conventional warheads. The missile was successfully fired from a ship in the Bay of Bengal, said S.P. Das, director of Integrated Test Range, a unit of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation. "The test met all the requisite parameters," he said. The Dhanush was last tested in 2007. Last month, India conducted the...

On 1 December 2009, the new US Air Force Global Strike Command formally assumed nuclear deterrence missions with land-based Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. The Command assumed command and responsibility for 20th Air Force and its three missile wings located at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming; at Maelstrom Air Force Base in Montana; at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota; as well as the 576th Flight Test Squadron at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Command will later take over the B-52 and B-2 bombers as well.

When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik in October 1957, the United States feared that nuclear missiles would soon follow. How could we stop them? In the Dr. Strangelove era, no idea was too absurd, and Nicholas Christofilos, an elevator engineer turned nuclear physicist, had a doozy. Christofilos had only undergraduate degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering, but he had become a top military scientist at California's Livermore Laboratory with a reputation for audacious creativity. He suggested that an atomic explosion in space could generate a vast flux of electrons, which would form a shell of energy over Earth, a phenomenon...

The head of the institute developing a sea-based version of Russia's newest strategic missile has quit following repeated failures of the weapon in testing, officials said Wednesday. Yury Solomonov, head of the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology, was the most senior official to date to take responsibility for the string of failures of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, currently in development. "After the latest unsuccessful launch of the Bulava rocket, Yury Solomonov has submitted a resignation letter," Interfax-AVN, a news agency specializing in military affairs, quoted a source in the country's space industry as saying. The source said his resignation...

TOKYO (AP) — North Korea may fire a long-range ballistic missile toward Hawaii in early July, a Japanese newspaper said Thursday, amid escalating tensions between the communist country and the United States over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs. The missile, believed to be a long-range Taepodong-2 with a range of up to 4,000 miles (6,500 kilometers), would be launched from North Korea's Dongchang-ni site on the northwestern coast, said the Yomiuri daily, Japan's top-selling newspaper. The report cited an analysis by the Japanese Defense Ministry and intelligence gathered by U.S. reconnaissance satellites. The Yomiuri said the Taepodong-2 could fly over...

Video Trailer follows..The United States of America's preamble of the Constitution states that the Federal Government's primary responsibility is not bailing out bad business decisions, but to keep our nation secure. Preamble We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The Heritage Foundation has released the trailer to their groundbreaking documentary, "33 Minutes," which debuts in...

India Successfully Tests Missile Able To Hit China by Pratap Mohanty Bhubaneswar, India (AFP) April 12, 2007 India announced Thursday a successful test-firing of a nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic missile than can reach the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai. The Agni-III missile was launched from Wheeler Island, 180 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of Bhubaneswar, capital of the eastern state of Orissa. "The 16-metre-long (52-feet) missile weighing 48 tonnes lifted off successfully from its rail mobile launcher system leaving a trail of orange and yellow smoke," India's Defence Ministry said in a statement from New Delhi. "The entire flight path of...

Was it a "broken arrow" at the Trident submarine base in Bangor in November that led to the firing a month later of the Navy leadership overseeing nuclear weapons there?The code words used by the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the most severe level of a nuclear weapon mishap reportedly were invoked Nov. 7 when a Trident I C4 missile was damaged while being removed from the submarine USS Georgia in Bangor. The allegation was raised over the weekend at a watchdog Web site, jaghunters.blogspot.com, run by a former Navy officer, Walt Fitzpatrick of Bremerton. Fitzpatrick has had a significant...