Russian 5G subs to be equipped with ballistic, cruise missiles

Russia's proposed fifth-generation nuclear submarines will be armed with both ballistic and cruise missiles, a senior Navy source told RIA Novosti on Saturday.

He did not specify the names of the missiles.

Russia is planning to develop its newest fifth-generation submarine by 2020 under a 2011-2020 arms procurement program, First Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin said last month.

US ship to ‘bolster’ Europe’s missile defenses

The US military will send a warship to the Mediterranean next week as a first step in a defense shield to protect Europe from a potential strike from Iran's missile arsenal, a defense official said.

The USS Monterey, a guided missile cruiser equipped with Aegis radar designed to detect ballistic missiles, is due to depart next week from its home port in Norfolk, Virginia for a six-month mission, said John Plumb, principal director of nuclear and missile defense policy.

The ship's launch fulfills the US administration's goal of deploying military hardware for the shield in 2011.

Iran Mass Producing New Anti-Ship Missiles

TEHRAN - Iran is mass producing a new ballistic missile that can travel at more than three times the speed of sound and hit targets on the high seas, top commanders said on Feb. 7.

Cmdr. Mohammad Ali Jafari, who heads the elite military force, the Revolutionary Guards, said the missile - named "Persian Gulf" - had a range of 300 kilometers.

"Iran is mass producing a smart ballistic missile for sea targets with a speed three times more than the speed of sound," state news agency IRNA quoted Jafari as saying about the new missile.

He said the missile was "undetectable and can't be neutralized by enemies," without specifying the name. "It has very high precision in destroying targets," Jafari added.

"As the enemy's threats will likely come from the sea, air and by missiles, the Guards have been equipped with capabilities to neutralize the enemy's advanced technology," he said, according to another Iranian news agency, ISNA.

Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Completes Tracking Exercise

The Missile Defense Agency, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin completed a key tracking exercise for the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) system aboard three Navy ships.

In the test, known as Atlantic Trident, the USS Monterey (CG 61), USS Ramage (DDG 61) and USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) successfully tracked a short-range ballistic missile target. The Monterey and Ramage also simulated target solutions that would have resulted in successful intercepts.

"This event verified that both the Aegis BMD systems and crews aboard the ships are able to execute the missions necessary to support the nation's missile defense strategy," said Lisa Callahan, vice president of maritime BMD systems. "Aegis BMD is effective, affordable and interoperable with other systems and produces a layered air and missile defense capability to protect the U.S. homeland, our deployed forces and our allies."

China’s anti-ship ballistic missile operational

Admiral Robert Willard, Commander of the US Pacific Command, says China’s first-of-a-kind DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) now has a limited operational capability and will soon be fully operational, which he avers is a grave cause for concern to China’s neighbours and the United States.

In late December, Willard told a Japanese newspaper that, “the anti-ship ballistic missile system in China has undergone extensive testing…it has an operational capability now”. In the interview he added that the Chinese are continuing to test and develop the missile and would probably do so for several more years until it becomes fully operational.

The ASBM is based on the D-variant of the Dong Feng-21 medium range ballistic missile, which is known in the West as the CSS-5 Mod 5, according to the US Department of Defence’s 2010 report on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). “The missile has a range of in excess of 1500 km, is armed with a manoeuvrable warhead, and when integrated with appropriate command and control systems, is intended to provide the PLA the capability to attacks ships, including aircraft carriers, in the western Pacific Ocean”, the report said. Supporting the missile is a network of satellites, radar and unmanned aerial vehicles that can locate ships and guide the weapon, allowing it to hit moving targets, a US Naval Institute report in March 2009 stated.

Travelling at roughly ten times the speed of sound, the missile would reach its target in under ten minutes. Combined with kinetic energy, the DF-21D has a big enough warhead to disable or completely destroy a supercarrier, the Department of Defence reported. According to the US Naval Institute, ships currently have no means of defending themselves against a ballistic missile attack. However, the US Navy currently has 21 ships fitted with Aegis missiles capable of intercepting short-range ballistic missiles, according to the US Missile Defence Agency.