On Saturday, twenty drones and about a dozen cruise missiles produced at least nineteen impacts at two Saudi oil facilities. Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility, but photos show impacts consistent with coming from Iran or Iraq. Iraq denied its’ territory was used and both U.S. and Saudi officials insist Iran is responsible.
On Monday, the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, and the U.S. Air Force connected an F-35, a U-2, and a multi-domain ground station via data links for a missile defense exercise called Project Riot. MDA used the F-35 as a sensor to detect a missile launch. The U-2 acted as a relay between the jet and the air defense commander on the ground.
Also on Monday, Raytheon announced a new air-to-air missile. The Peregrine is applicable for use against cruise missiles, drones, and manned aircraft. It will be half the size of current weapons but achieve greater speed and maneuverability. Details on when it might be available for testing and sale were not released.
On Wednesday, the Space Development Agency (SDA) laid out its vision for a military space architecture. It calls for seven layers: command and control, a space-based communication system, three sensing layers, a battle management layer, and a navigation layer. The SDA intends to launch experimental satellites in FY2021. The SDA is aiming to have an initial capability for an advanced missile threat tracking layer in 2024.
On Thursday, it was reported researchers at Middlebury Institute said satellite images suggested North Korea might be preparing to deploy a new ballistic missile capable submarine. The images show a structure covering almost an entire quay at a shipyard in Sinpo. The structure is about 100 meters long – longer than what North Korea has used to build conventional submarines.
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