Business Review: The Romanian government has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army and transferred funding to the US government for the purchase of three additional Raytheon Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems from the U.S. Army. As was the case with the first system, which came under contract in May, the additional units were procured via the… read more
Defense News: WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army formally announced its plan to conduct a missile defense radar “sense-off” to replace the aging Patriot that will be included in its Integrated Air and Missile Defense system (IAMD) under development. The purpose of this sense-off seems to be designed to hit the reset button on the Lower… read more
Navy Recognition: Work has commenced on the refurbishment and modification of the NATO Seasparrow Missile System (NSSMS) platform and MK 132 Guided Missile Launching System located at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD). The surface-to-air ship defense system is being upgraded to support deployment of the Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM) Block 2,… read more
Air Force Technology: Lockheed Martin has received a contract extension from the US Missile Defense Agency to carry on the low power laser demonstrator (LPLD) missile interceptor concept development. Valued at $25.5m, the award extension is built on the original nine-month, $9.4m contract awarded to Lockheed in October last year for the development of the initial… read more
Stars and Stripes: CAMP ZAMA, Japan — The Army has reactivated a brigade to oversee missile-defense units on mainland Japan, Okinawa and Guam. The 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade was reactivated in a brief ceremony Wednesday at Camp Zama, headquarters of U.S. Army Japan in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo. The brigade, based at Sagami General… read more
MDA: The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and U.S. Navy sailors aboard USS John Finn (DDG-113) successfully conducted an intercept of a medium-range ballistic missile target with a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA missile during a flight test off the west coast of Hawaii. The SM-3 Block IIA is being developed cooperatively by the U.S.… read more
USNI: The Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. Under the FY2019 budget submission, the number of BMD-capable Aegis ships is scheduled to be 41 at the end of FY2019 and… read more
UPI: Oct. 25 (UPI) — Northrop Grumman has received a contract to provide common integrated bridge and navigation systems, or IBNS, for the U.S. Navy’s New Construction Ship Program and Midlife Modernization Program. The $18 million firm-fixed-price contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, calls on Northrop to produce base hardware for IBNS systems… read more
National Defense: The Defense Department is looking to industry to help make lasers and other directed energy weapons a major part of the warfighter’s toolkit. But a number of hurdles remain before the systems can be fully fielded. Officials envision a wide range of military applications for the technology, from missile defense to electronic warfare… read more
Yonhap News Agency: SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said Friday that there is “no particular change” to the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system amid ongoing inter-Korean efforts to reduce military tensions and prevent accidental clashes. His remarks during a parliamentary audit came as speculation has emerged that the… read more