On Tuesday, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired missiles and carried out military exercises using a mock U.S aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian commandos assaulted the replica carrier, and missiles were also fired from fast boats, trucks, and a helicopter. Ballistic missile fire from the drill resulted in American troops being put on alert at Al-dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi and Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
On Wednesday, the Department of Defense outlined how missile defense is becoming a key factor in great power competition with Russia and China. China especially is rapidly expanding its missile defense capabilities, which are key to its military ambitions and posture in the Indo-Pacific region.
On Thursday, the nominee to head NORTHCOM, Lt. Gen. Glen VanHerck, indicated he believes the Missile Defense Agency is taking steps to speed up the acquisition of the Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI). VanHerck also mentioned that MDA is currently exploring additional capabilities for the underlayer - specifically SM-3 and THAAD - that will help prevent any gaps in coverage.
On Friday, Navy Adm. Charles A. Richard spoke at the Nuclear Deterrence Forum about the rapid modernization and improvements Russia and China are making to their strategic and conventional military capabilities. Adm. Richard warned that China is in the process of completing its nuclear triad, and that the U.S will have to face two peer-capable nuclear competitors in the near future.
Also on Friday, the government of Japan took a step closer towards acquiring strike weapons to defend against ballistic missile attacks. Long-range munitions are controversial in Japan, which renounced war after World War II, and the proposal will likely anger China and Russia who will fall in range of any new strike weapons.
On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Force's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted a rocket that was fired from the Gaza Strip towards southern Israel. Tens of thousands of residents were forced to retreat to bomb shelters, and a fragment of an interceptor missile struck a vehicle in the town of Sderot.
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