MISSILE DEFENSE MONDAYS September 29 - October 5, 2020 THE WEEK IN BRIEF Click Here to Watch The Missile Defense Mondays Video On Monday, it was announced that the US 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command along with nine other NATO nation air defense forces had finished the Tobruq Legacy 2020 exercise. Tobruq Legacy 20, a biennial air defense exercise, took place in Lithuania in order to test NATO's integrated air and missile defense operations. On Tuesday, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced that the US State Department had cleared a possible $55.311 million sale of RAM Block 2 Tactical Missiles and related equipment to Japan. This announcement comes as Japan's Defense Ministry submitted a record-high defense budget request of $52 billion and is considering various upgrades to its land, sea, cyber, and space capabilities. Also on Tuesday, and going through Thursday the US Army hosted its annual Fires Conference virtually. This year's conference featured briefings from several army leaders and laid out plans for the further modernization of US military capabilities and operations. Also on Tuesday, it was reported that US forces, along with NATO allies Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Sweden, had completed the Astral Knight joint multinational air defense exercise in Poland. The exercises tested both ground and air defenses to increase cohesion and flexibility for each of the nations' defense systems. On Wednesday, the US military received its first Iron Dome battery from Israel, with a second set to be delivered as well. This delivery comes one year after a deal was signed between the US and Israel for the US to procure its own Iron Dome missile defense system. Also on Wednesday, six rockets landed near Erbil International Airport in Kurdistan, with three striking a base in which US troops are located. No US injuries or damage were reported, however, the attack is suspected to have involved the possible use of larger-scale weapons. Also on Wednesday, tensions flared after Armenia's Defense Ministry refused to rule out the use of Iskander missile complexes against Azerbaijan. That same day, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry announced that their armed forces had successfully deactivated an Armenian S-300 surface-to-air-missile in Karabakh. It was also claimed by Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry that Armenia had used a Tochka-U tactical missile system against Azerbaijani troops in Karabakh. On Thursday, the US State Department announced the approval of a possible sale of the Patriot missile system to Switzerland. The foreign military sale (FMS) comes shortly after the Switzerland government requested to purchase five Patriot Modernized Fire units. Also on Thursday, the U.S. Army and MDA successfully conducted an integrated Patriot and THAAD intercept test at White Sands Missile Range. During the test, the THAAD TPY-2 radar provided track data to a Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptor, that successfully intercepted a theater ballistic missile target. This test followed a February intercept test, that failed to intercept the target. On Sunday, it was reported that North Korea had been seen moving an ICBM along with four mobile launchers to an auto plant in Pyongyang. This comes as speculation surrounds potential new technologies that may be unveiled at North Korea's upcoming military parade. MDAA ALERTS Winning Matters “It’s a great time to be in the FIRES business, it’s a great time to be in the air and missile defense business. Our troops around the world are doing incredible things, all our troops, but a special shout-out to our air defenders who may be there in person..." Click here to read more. Recognizing Our Best of the Best “It is so important to us to recognize our best of the best in this great mission, this critical mission, that has kept our nation safe during these times of challenges with COVID. It’s a great honor to have some great winners and great leaders in this field across our Services..." Click here to read more. MDAA WEBSITE UPDATES AND FEATURES OTR-21 Tochka (SS-21 Scarab) First operationalized in 1975, the road-mobile Scarab-A variant was designed to be deployed alongside conventional forces, maintain flexibility on the battlefield, and attack tactical targets such as bridges, storage facilities, troop concentrations, and airfields... Learn more about Tochka. BrahMos-II BrahMos-II, also known as BrahMos Mark II is hypersonic cruise missile currently under development as a joint project by Russia and India. Russia’s NPO Mashinostroeyenia and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization have formed the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited... Learn more about the BrahMos-II. Hezbollah Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim political party and militant group that the United States and European Union consider a terrorist organization. Hezbollah’s objective is to destroy Israel and to create a fundamentalist Islamic state in Lebanon... Learn more about Hezbollah. MISSILE DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Airman First Class Carson Willard A1C Willard serves as an Intelligence Duty Technician on the 24/7 Indications and Warning team that guides real time analysis, supporting the decision cycle for the Chief of Combat Operations (CCO) as well as the Commander of the Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR). On a daily basis, Airman Willard analyzes over 200 messages as well as monitoring 1.4 million square miles of Alaskan airspace for U.S. North American Aerospace Defense-Northern Command. As part of the Indications and Warnings (I&W) team, A1C Willard has delivered 208 update briefs which have primed and influenced real-world combat ops decision making. He has also managed dynamic Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) reporting and analysis for five Northern Sovereignty Operations (NSO) and Alaskan Air Identification Zone entries by unauthorized aircraft enabling senior leadership decision making. His efforts are in keeping with ANR’s mission of maintaining the U.S.’s aerospace sovereignty and integrity. A1C Willard is a native of Houston, Texas. He attended Friendswood High School graduating in 2011. After graduation, he attended Texas State University – San Marcos and later transferred to the University of Houston, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Minor in U.S. History in 2017. He enlisted in the Air Force in 2018. Following basic training, A1C Willard attended the Air Force Intelligence All-Source Analyst Basic Course at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas. After graduating from Intelligence School, he was assigned to the 611th Air Operations Center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. Click here to view all the awardees from the 2020 Alaska Missile Defender of the Year. NEWS MISSILE DEFENSE NEWS NATO Air Defense Forces Integrate in the Baltics - 9/29/20 - US Army Landmark discovery could improve Army lasers, precision sensors - 9/29/20 - EurekAlert! Science News 100th Missile Defense Brigade hosts Nuclear Weapons Orientation Course Mobile Training Team - 9/29/20 - DVIDS DoD tells Congress of plans to sell RAM missiles to Japan – 9/29/2020 – Defense Blog MDA BAA on sea-based terminal future interceptor – 9/30/2020 – Inside Defense Virtual Fires Conference open to all – 9/30/2020 – The Lawton Constitution Joint Multinational Exercise Validates Aerial and Ground Force Integration in Eastern Europe – 9/30/2020 – Defense Blog Army Wants New Mega-Jammer In 2023: TLS-EAB - 9/30/2020 - Breaking Defense U.S. Receives Its First Israeli-made Iron Dome Missile Defense Battery – 9/30/2020 – Haaretz Guided-missile destroyer breaks record for longest time spent at sea – 9/30/2020 – Navy Times US State Department green lights Patriot missile sale to Switzerland – 10/1/2020 – Army Technology USS Donald Cook Completes Availability Ahead of Schedule – 10/1/2020 – NAVSEA General Dynamics gets $1.2 billion to build short-range air defense systems for US Army – 10/2/2020 – Defense News MDA and Army see successful Patriot and THAAD test after failure – 10/2/2020 – Defense News Japan’s missile defense options – 10/2/2020 – NHK World THREAT NEWS Five civilians killed in Baghdad rocket attack - 9/29/20 - Arab News Russian Submarine Fired Kalibr Missiles During Recent Exercise - 9/29/20 - National Interest Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons: The Kremlin’s Wild Card - 9/30/20 - Eurasia Daily Monitor Israeli PM to UN: Hezbollah storing missiles in Beirut - 9/30/20 - Associated Press North Korea prepares to flex its muscle at military parade - 10/1/20 - Deutsche Welle Rear Admiral Khanzadi: We’re moving from subsonic to supersonic missiles - 10/1/20 - Tehran Times Air defense system Tor-M2 to get special small missile against drones - 10/1/20 - Tass Unusual Submarine Likely To Increase Threat From North Korea - 10/2/20 - Naval News What an ‘October surprise’ from North Korea might actually look like - 10/2/20 - Atlantic Council Russia’s combat helicopters to be armed with suicide drones — source - 10/2/20 - Tass Rockets strike Iraqi base where US troops are located, US defense official says – 10/2/2020 – CNN OTHER NEWS Armenia Threatens Azerbaijan With Use Of Ballistic Missiles – 9/30/2020 – Caspian News Azerbaijani forces claim destruction of Armenian air missile system in Karabakh – 9/30/2020 – TASS India test-fires BrahMos supersonic cruise missile – 9/30/2020 – The Tribune India Russia Rebuffs Trump’s Arms-Control Proposal – 10/1/2020 - The Wall Street Journal India moves terrain-hugging Nirbhay missiles with 1,000-km range to defend LAC – 10/1/2020 - Hindustan Times Armenia uses Tochka-U tactical missiles in Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan says – 10/1/2020 - Tass  Stay Connected: ‌ ‌ ‌ 515 King Street, Suite 330, Alexandria, VA 22314 Unsubscribe [email protected] About our service provider Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!