Confidential report lists U.S. weapons system designs compromised by Chinese cyberspies

Designs for many of the nation’s most sensitive advanced weapons systems have been compromised by Chinese hackers, according to a report prepared for the Pentagon and to officials from government and the defense industry.

Among more than two dozen major weapons systems whose designs were breached were programs critical to U.S. missile defenses and combat aircraft and ships, according to a previously undisclosed section of a confidential report prepared for Pentagon leaders by the Defense Science Board.

Pentagon: Iran Expands Use of Proxies

Hagel shortens public version and for first time calls Iran strategy ‘defensive’

Iran’s terrorist-backing government is expanding the use of proxies around the world to carry out its military policies, according to a Pentagon report.

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The public portion of the first report to Congress under Hagel also was sharply curtailed this year from the four-page, unclassified assessment released in April 2012, to five paragraphs for the latest unclassified executive summary of the report dated January 2013.

Pentagon spokesmen initially said the five-paragraph executive summary was classified as “for official use only” and would not be released. A spokeswoman for the office of the undersecretary of defense for intelligence later made a copy of the new assessment available to the Washington Free Beacon.

Fighting Words

Iranian defense minister threatens to destroy Israel

Iran’s defense minister said on Thursday that the regime’s forces are now capable of destroying Israel and fulfilling its president’s pledge to wipe the country off the map.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, the defense chief, dismissed Israeli threats to attack Iran’s nuclear sites as a “bluff” during a meeting with reporters.

“The defense capability of the Islamic Iran against threats by the Zionist regime [Israel] has been developed to an extent that will wipe the [Israeli] regime off the scene,” Vahidi was quoted as saying during a visit to a Tehran mosque Sept. 19, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Vahidi said Iran would display new military equipment in the coming week including armored vehicles and naval and air weapons.

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Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps announced recently that they plan to hold large-scale military exercises near Tehran together with the Iranian military. The maneuvers are set to begin Oct. 11.

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Iran has threatened to target Israel in response to an Israeli strike and also to target 32 U.S. military bases in the region. Tehran also has threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

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Iran announced Sept. 9 that it plans to show off a new advance cruise missile with a range of 1,242 miles.

“The Meshkat cruise missile, which God willing, will be unveiled soon, has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and in fact is the long arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces,” Deputy Defense Minister and head of the ministry’s Aerospace Organization Mehdi Farahi told Fars news agency.

The new system would be part of other cruise missiles Iran has such as the Zafar, Nasir, Noor, Qadir, and Ghadir, Farahi said.

“So far, we have 14 types of cruise missiles either built or being developed and, God willing, the two cruise missiles of Ra’d and Meshkat will be unveiled soon,” Farahi said, adding that the missile can be fired from land, sea, or air.

Iran also has several types of medium-range missiles called Shehab, based on the North Korean Nodong missile.

“We are no longer concerned about quantity and have turned our attention to quality production and issues such as increasing accuracy, radar evading systems, tactical issues, and durability,” Farahi said of Iran’s missiles.

In a related development, an Iranian nuclear official said this week that Tehran has been supplying false information to foreign intelligence services.

Fereydun Abbasi, head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the Arabic newspaper Al-Hyat Sept. 21 that the disinformation was supplied to Britain’s MI-6.

“Sometimes we gave the wrong information to protect our nuclear centers and our achievement,” Abbasi was quoted as saying. “Misleading foreign espionage apparatuses is inevitable.”

“Sometimes we show weaknesses which we do not possess and other times we claim to have powers which we do not have,” he said.

The comments raise questions about whether the U.S. intelligence community was fed false information about Iran’s nuclear program that influenced the conclusion of a controversial 2007 National Intelligence Estimate that stated Iran had halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003.

The International Atomic Energy Agency stated in a recent report that it has obtained evidence that Iran’s nuclear arms work continued after 2003.

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Iran in recent days has boasted of several new weapons systems, including new air defense missiles

On Sept. 16, Iranian state-run press announced the production of a new unmanned aerial vehicle, the Shahed-129, which is capable of 24-hour combat and reconnaissance missions. The drone is said to be equipped with Sadid missiles that can hit targets from long distances.

IRGC Maj. Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari said on state media that the “Shahed 129 drone presents the IRGC’s latest advancement in this field. With its 24-hour-long non-stop flight capability, the drone can accomplish good missions in reconnaissance and combat fields.”

Full article: Fighting Words (Washington Free Beacon)

Intelligence Estimate: Iran’s Nukes Nearly Immune From Israeli Strike

Iran’s nuclear program is approaching the “immunity zone”—the point when its equipment is too well defended for Israel to attack—Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported August 10.

U.S. intelligence officials recently produced a new National Intelligence Estimate (nie), which warned that Iran’s nuclear program has made “significant progress,” the paper claimed, citing “top U.S. officials.”

The nie warned that Iran recently installed 5,000 twin centrifuges in its under-mountain base in Fordo, near Qom. Israel fears it may not be able to completely destroy the Fordo facility. If Iran moves a significant amount of nuclear equipment to Fordo, the Israelis may be unable to stop Iran’s nuclear program short of using a nuclear missile themselves.

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The U.S. has consistently refused to take any meaningful action against Iran, causing the problem to grow worse. The issue is driving a wedge between the U.S. and Israel. While both share intelligence, the two react to the material very differently. Israel is more urgent to attack Iran before it is too late, while America says there is still time and Israel should wait to see if sanctions work.

Watch for Iran to continue to push toward nuclear weapons. As it gets closer, Europe will become more worried and more urgent. Watch for Israel to draw closer to these European partners as America’s refusal to act further divides the two allies.

Full article: Intelligence Estimate: Iran’s Nukes Nearly Immune From Israeli Strike (The Trumpet)