Interceptor shield

SOURCE: Casper Star Tribune
October 29 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators from Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota have teamed up to try to preserve the nation’s nuclear missile force.
The senators introduced legislation this week that would urge the Pentagon to maintain the nation’s current fleet of 500 nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs. Those missiles are located at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota.
The nation’s nuclear missile stockpile has been slowly reduced since the end of the Cold War, and an upcoming Pentagon review is considering whether 500 ICBMs are still necessary to safeguard the country.
“The Cold War is over, but other nations are still seeking nuclear weapons,” said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., the lead sponsor of the bill.

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SOURCE: gbad.org
October 29, 2005

According to Norwegian military press the Royal Norwegian Airforce in October this year conducted a live test firing of AMRAAM rounds with the air defence system NASAMS. This is the first time AMRAAMs have been fired from Norwegian soil, and it is believed that the firing might lay the grounds for increased operational ability as well as economic efficiency for the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Andoya Rocket Range
The missile range, located well over 300 km north of the Arctic Circle, on the island of Andoya, is expected to be officially authorised for surface-to-air missile firings some time next year. The live firing in October was witnessed by civilian representatives from foreign and domestic companies as well as by military personnel from several NATO countries, e.g. Spain, being the first foreign customer buying NASAMS. Jorquin Llorens Andres from the Spanish NASAMS battalion was present during the live firing. According to the experienced Spanish representative the session had been impressive and a positive learning experience. Both from an arctic operations perspective as well as far as logistics were concerned.

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SOURCE: United Press International
October 28, 2005

NEW DELHI, Oct. 28 (UPI) — India said it will sell its high-tech supersonic cruise missile BrahMos to Chile, the first buyer of the Indian missile.
“The export of military hardware is no longer an issue, and we have started exporting the BrahMos,” Vice-Adm. Madanjit Singh of the Indian navy said at a seminar on the Indian naval industry, The Hindu newspaper said Friday.

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SOURCE: SAIC
October 26, 2005

Press Release
BRUSSELS) - A team led by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), the NATO prime contractor for missile defence architecture and requirements analysis, announced today that it intends to pursue the NATO active layered theatre ballistic missile defence (ALTBMD) systems engineering and integration (SE&I) contract, scheduled for an invitation for bid in March of 2006.
SAIC’s team is comprised of U.S. and European air and missile defence development companies as well as companies with large-scale systems integration capabilities. To complement these capabilities, SAIC has added defence research organisations who are leaders in distributed integration of missile defence weapon systems and command and control capabilities. If selected, the SAIC team will provide systems engineering support to NATO’s ALTBMD program organisation in Brussels, Belgium, and will design, develop and operate a testbed in Europe that will help integrate and test missile defence capabilities from NATO and member nations.
SAIC’s European teammates include France’s Thales Group and European Aeronautics and Defence Space (EADS SPACE); Germany’s Industrieanlagen-Betriebsgesellschaft mbH (IABG); Britain’s QinetiQ; and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), as well as SAIC’s U.K. subsidiary, SAIC Ltd. The Raytheon Company (U.S.) and ThalesRaytheonSystems, a transatlantic joint venture between Thales and Raytheon, complete the team.

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SOURCE: Military
October 25, 2005

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. - Though it has been busy providing hurricane support over the past 14 months, the 1st Air Force is also busy doing its main job — protecting America’s skies.
The Airmen that work in the combined air operations center continue to maintain the nation’s “steady and robust air defense,” said Col. Kevin Burman, commander of the combined air operations center here.
“With recent hurricane operations, we’ve stepped up to fully integrate both missions without compromise,” he said. “We’re ready to provide the people of Florida any assistance they require. Americans expect — and will receive — nothing less.”

1st AF is charged with the air sovereignty and air defense of the continental United States, providing and directing airspace surveillance and control.

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SOURCE: SpaceWar
Oct 25 2005

The Pentagon’s latest assessment of China’s military power said Beijing would deploy a new mobile nuclear missile, the DF-31, in 2005-2006 and the new missile was capable of hitting Australia in an arc from Brisbane to Perth, the Herald Sun newspaper reported Sunday.
In 2007-2009, China is planning to deploy a new intercontinental ballistic missile, the DF-31A, which has a far greater range and would be able to strike any Australian city, New Zealand and most of the United States, the report said. At present, China’s strategic nuclear weapons have been based in silos. They are liquid-fueled, making them easier targets for satellites to pick up and to strike. But the new and mobile DF-31s are solid-fueled, have a longer range and are much harder to detect.

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SOURCE: Interfax
Oct 25 2005

The Russian Strategic Missile Troops’ step-by-step switchover to Topol-M land-based mobile missile complexes is to begin early in 2006, Strategic Missile Troops Commander Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov told Interfax. A program of test flights has been fulfilled, and “the troops are actively changing over to on-duty performance tests,” the commander said. Earlier reports said that the first Topol-M mobile missile complex is to be supplied to the strategic missile regiment in Teikovo in Ivanovo region, to replace a rail-based missile complex. Topol-M is a unique missile complex adapted to advanced missile defense systems. It is more mobile than other missile systems and is better protected from the enemy’s reconnaissance.

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SOURCE: ADA Magazine
25 October 2005

Fort Shafter, Hawaii—As the U.S. Army continues its transformation to meet the security challenges of the 21st century, it has now officially provided the Asia-Pacific Theater a first line of defense with the recent activation of the 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
The 94th AAMDC unfurled its colors during a ceremony October 14, at the historic Palm Circle on Fort Shafter.
This ceremony marks the activation of the third Army air and missile defense command; two in the active component and one in the reserve component. The 94th AAMDC is the newest addition to the Modular Army and is tailored for joint and or multinational operations. It is a command headquarters element that provides command and control for Army air defense units, and it will assist in planning theater level air and missile defenses.
“In this region of the world there is a rapid growth in the number of air-delivered weapons systems,” said LT. Gen. John M. Brown III, U.S. Army, Pacific Commanding General and the reviewing officer for the ceremony. “Things will change; we’ll keep all our existing missions, but we will also become a war-fighting headquarters. The 94th AAMDC is an integral part of the headquarters transformation.”

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SOURCE: ADA Magazine
24 October 05

It is impossible to prevent all violations of U.S. airspace and to deter all attacks. However, no single entity leads a response to airspace violations. Information is not shared routinely. There is not a single, agreed upon meaning for how an “airspace violation” is defined. Among responsible agencies, different communication systems are used that are not interoperable. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), charged with tracking domestic air traffic, is evolving towards global positioning system (GPS) tracking transponders for aircraft. In the meantime, the FAA utilizes a homeland radar tracking system. Funding issues and technological innovations however, may cause a temporary seam in tracking air-breathing vehicles. Ballistic and cruise-missile technology is cheap and getting less expensive. They are relatively easy to produce, hard to track, and can be launched from containers carried by ship, truck, and train. With $50 million an international terrorist organization can buy 100 “off the shelf” ballistic missiles. A brief look at the countries possessing ballistic missiles includes over 30 countries, many unfriendly to U.S. interests. Additionally, the proliferation and relative availability of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) is another challenge. They are inexpensive, easily portable and concealable. Current black market rates range from $1,000 to $250,000. Since 1978, there have been over 35 SAM attacks on civilian aircraft. More than 50,000 SAMs are estimated to be on the black market.

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SOURCE: Stars And Stripes
October 19, 2005

The Army announced this week increases in enlistment bonuses for recruits who sign up to work with Patriot Missile systems.
Recruits who enter the Patriot Missile System Enhanced Operator MOS, 14E, now will receive $8,000 for a four-year commitment, up from $4,000; $12,000 for five years, instead of $6,000; and $14,000 for six years, up from $8,000.
Those who sign up as Patriot Launching Station Enhanced Operators, MOS 14T, will receive $3,000 for a two-year commitment, instead of $1,000; $5,000 for three years, instead of $3,000; $8,000 for four years, instead of $4,000; $12,000 for five years, instead of $6,000; and $14,000 for six years, instead of $8,000.

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