Russia to Deploy Precision Strike Missiles in Western Atlantic

Kalibr missile firing

 

Kalibr cruise missiles will target Washington, East Coast cities

Russia is deploying long-range, precision cruise missiles to the western Atlantic that American defense officials say will allow Moscow to target Washington and other East Coast cities with conventional or nuclear attacks.

Moscow is adding Kalibr land attack cruise missiles to both warships and missile submarines that Moscow plans to use in Atlantic patrols near the United States, sorties that were once routine during the Cold War.

Preparing for WAR? Russia begins testing long-range missile system

Defence minister Sergei Shoigu said tests are underway for the new missile system [Getty]

 

RUSSIA is testing a guided long-range air defence missile system for its naval fleet.

The Kremlin’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu said tests are already underway for the missiles which are expected to be used by new navy ships.

Air defence missile and artillery systems are also being tested alongside the long-range missile.

Mr Shoigu warned the new projects will allow Moscow to create weapons with “unique combat capabilities”.

Iran tests new long-range missile

Iran announced Sunday it had successfully tested a new domestically produced long-range missile, which it said was the first that could be guided all the way to targets.

The defence ministry posted pictures of the launch of the missile, named Imad, on its website but no details were given about its maximum range or other capabilities.

PLA conducts 2nd test flight of DF-41 long-range missile

The PLA Second Artillery Corps, China’s strategic missile force, conducted a second test flight of its DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missile on Dec. 13, according to the US website Washington Free Beacon.

The test took place at the Wuzhai missile launch center in northern China’s Shanxi province and follows the first test in July last year. The missile is raising new concerns that Beijing is contemplating abandoning its longstanding nuclear strategy of no first use.

With a range of between 6,835 miles and 7,456 miles, the DF-41 ICBM is considered a serious threat to US national security. US observers believe the weapon will be capable of carrying multiple warheads and claim it could be used to carry out a surprise attack that could knock out an enemy’s arsenal and limit its counterstrike capabilities.

N. Korea moves intermediate-range missile to east coast

SEOUL, April 4 (Yonhap) — North Korea has recently moved an intermediate-range missile to its east coast in a display of military power or a preparatory move for an imminent liftoff, multiple sources in Seoul said Thursday.

The North’s apparent missile relocation has prompted the United States to move its advanced missile defense system to its base on the Pacific Ocean island of Guam along with radar systems.

North Korea says nuclear weapons can reach US

In an article posted on the official Uriminzokkiri website, a member of the Korean National Peace Committee – a propaganda body — said the North was now a “fully-independent rocket and nuclear weapons state”.

“The United States should be acutely aware that the US mainland is now well within the range of our strategic rockets and nuclear weapons,” the signed commentary said.

Russian Air Force to Get New Cruise Missile in 2013

The Russian Air Force will accept into service in 2013 the new Raduga Kh-101 cruise missile, capable of delivering precision strikes with a conventional warhead at long-distance, an Air Force source told Izvestia on Wednesday.

The new missile, currently being flight-tested, will be able to hit targets with an accuracy of just 30 feet (10 meters) at ranges of up to 6,000 miles (10,000 km), giving Long-Range Aviation its first precision-strike long-range weapon, the paper says.

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The subsonic Kh-101 navigates primarily by using Russia’s GLONASS satellite navigation system, but also has a backup intertial guidance mechanism which can take over if its SATNAV is jammed. It will also be capable of hitting small moving targets like vehicles, the paper said.

The new missile delivers a bigger payload – 880 pounds (400 kg) than its Kh-555 predecessor (440 pounds), and over a much longer range. A nuclear-armed variant, Kh-102, will also enter service.

Full article: Russian Air Force to Get New Cruise Missile in 2013 (Defence Talk)

Is Iran trying to develop a missile that could reach America?

Is Iran trying to develop a missile that could reach the “Great Satan”?

The missile under construction at an Iranian research-and-development facility, which was damaged by a mysterious explosion in November, was a long-range missile prototype with a range of 6,000 miles – enough to hit the United States, a senior Israeli official said Thursday in a speech to a defense and security forum.

At the time of the Nov. 12 explosion at a facility some 30 miles outside Tehran, Iranian officials insisted that the suspicious blast was an accident. It occurred, they said, during experimentation on a medium-range missile – one capable of reaching Israel.

But on Thursday, Moshe Yaalon, Israel’s vice prime minister and minister of strategic affairs, said in a speech outside Tel Aviv that the missile under development actually had a range closer to 6,000 miles.

“That’s the Great Satan,” Mr. Yaalon said, using the well-known pejorative term that Iranian officials have used for the US. “It was aimed at America, not at us.”

Full article: Is Iran trying to develop a missile that could reach America? (Christian Science Monitor)