On Tuesday, a Yemeni military base in Marib province was hit by a missile, killing seven people, including the son and a nephew of Yemen’s military chief of staff. Yemeni authorities blamed the attack on Houthi rebels, who did not immediately claim responsibility. The attack took place shortly after the expiration of a month-long cease fire that was announced on April 24.
On Thursday, U.S. Army Futures Command commander, General Mike Murray, stated the Army’s Project Convergence exercise will move forward this fall. The exercise will test the sharing of targeting data amongst the Army’s newest weapon systems. GEN Murray was cautious about the participation of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS) and Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense (IM-SHORAD) systems because of delays to their testing schedule due to COVID-19. GEN Murray wants Project Convergence to be an annual exercise and foresees integrating the U.S. Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) in 2021.
Also on Thursday, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy received 112 Iranian built missile speed boats during a ceremony in the city of Bandar Abbas. Iran claimed the boats have high hydro-dynamic capability, speed, maneuverability, and offensive power to advance the IRGC Navy’s presence and capabilities in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
On Friday, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) replaced expired Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors at the missile defense site located in Seongju. The number of new interceptors matched the number of interceptors taken out of service. Along with the new interceptors, the base also received construction material to improve living conditions for troops stationed at the base.
Also on Friday, the Army laid out its plans to test the two recently purchased Iron Dome batteries in 2021. The batteries are expected to arrive at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in December 2020 and February 2021. After the successful conclusion of testing, the batteries will officially stand up at Fort Bliss, Texas, and be available for operational deployment by September and December 2021.
On Friday, the U.S. State Department approved three foreign sales packages to support updates to Kuwait’s Patriot missile defense systems. One package includes 84 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors, but all packages are subject to change as Congressional clearance and negotiations with Kuwait proceed.
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