MISSILE DEFENSE MONDAYS July 13 - July 19, 2021 THE WEEK IN BRIEF On Monday, the Missile Defense Agency announced that two cubesats launched into space on June 30 had begun communicating with ground stations last week. These satellites were the first tests in a series of experiments to integrate space and satellite-to-ground links. On Tuesday, it was reported that the House Appropriations Committee is planning to cut the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) funding request for the protection of Guam. If passed, MDA's funding request for the U.S. territory would be cut by $15.9 million, which the committee cited as "unjustified growth." It was reported on Wednesday that Russia had tested more than 320 types of weapons during their operations in Syria. Russia's operations in the Middle East are primarily the result of weapons sales, of which the Middle East bought approximately $52 billion worth of Russian weapons in 2019. On Thursday, it was announced that the UK Royal Navy and the Italian Army and Navy signed a contract to refurbish 1,000 Aster air defense missiles, to be carried out at various locations in the UK and Italy. France signed a similar contract in January 2020 to refurbish their fleet of Aster missiles as well. On Saturday, the U.S. Army released a statement confirming the first ever launch of Patriot missiles on Australian soil during the Talisman Saber 21 exercises. Soldiers from the 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade successfully engaged drone targets with the Patriot system during the exercise. The historical launch marks the largest joint military exercise between the U.S. and Australia to date. On Monday, Russia conducted a successful test of their new Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missile, which they plan to install upon both warships and submarines. The Russian Defense Ministry said the missile reached nearly Mach 7 speeds and hit a target at a range of over 350 kilometers. Russia has been developing hypersonic missiles as a way to "gain a competitive edge" over the U.S., according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also on Monday, ASD News reported that a PAC-3 missile successfully intercepted a surrogate cruise missile using an F-35 sensor in New Mexico during an Army flight test. This victory marks the first time that F-35 data has contributed to the global track used by the U.S. Army Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System. Click here to read all of this week's headlines. MDAA ALERTS Tethered Goats: Unleashing AEGIS and Enabling the Near Future of Robust Missile Defense In looking back on the success that the U.S. Navy has had in the Pacific over the past 25 years, specifically dealing with the evolving threat from China, our list of Greatest of All Time (GOAT) performers... Click here to read more. MDAA WEBSITE UPDATES AND FEATURES Russia As the heir to the Soviet nuclear arsenal, Russia deploys the largest and most diverse nuclear missile force in the world. Reports indicate that Russia plans to spend 25% of its $560 billion budget for military modernization on upgrading its aging nuclear forces. Learn more about Russia. Arrow (Israel) The Arrow project began in the 1980s when its design was submitted to the United States in response to President Regan’s Strategic Defense Initiative. The system was promoted as a more effective theater missile defense system than the Patriot air defense platform.  Learn more about Arrow. MISSILE DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Lieutenant  Simon Mansonhing LT Mansonhing is the USS John Finn’s (DDG 114) resident subject matter expert in Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD). He expertly led two BMD watch teams through two rigorous and highly successful Missile Defense Agency (MDA) events, one multi-national missile defense exercise, and four Tactical Training Group Pacific (TTGP) BMD exercises. LT Mansonhing’s enthusiasm for training, attention to detail, and infectiously positive attitude were the cornerstone to John Finn achieving outstanding success and meeting all mission objectives for a Navy strategic systems flight experiment. John Finn successfully detected the hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) using unique SPY settings during the live flight. Data extracted from this event played a significant role in the development of a capability against the HGV threat and delivery of capability to the Fleet by 2024. Additionally, LT Mansonhing led the John Finn missile defense team and ensured all objectives were achieved during the multi-national missile defense exercise, Pacific Dragon 2020. LT Mansonhing served as the BMD liaison officer for TTGP onboard John Finn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and achieved flawless execution across four BMD exercises in 2020. He provided critical oversight of SPY-1 phased array radar maintenance directly resulting in John Finn earning the Navy Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division SPY honor roll for 26 consecutive months – a Navy record. LT Mansonhing’s career as Fire Control Officer culminated with the execution of FTM-44. The Aegis Weapon System in John Finn used track data to consummate an SM-3 Block IIA engagement of the ICBM target leveraging the Engage on Remote capability. LT Mansonhing was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California. LT Mansonhing earned his B.S. in Finance from Cal Poly. He worked as an EMT auxiliary sheriff deputy at the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office before he commissioned from Officer Candidate Scholl in July of 2016. LT Mansonhing reported to the USS John Finn in July 2016 as the Main Propulsion Officer and commissioned the ship as a plankowner in June 2017. LT Mansonhing later fleeted up on USS John Finn (DDG 113) and completed his second tour as Fire Control Officer. During this tour, he served as Assistant Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) Coordinator for John Finn’s INSURV inspection and served as Assistant Senior Watch Officer.  Click here to view all the awardees from the 2020 Indo-Pacific Air & Missile Defender of the Year. MDAA IN THE NEWS Moving missiles: Army shuttles Patriot batteries around the Pacific in message to adversaries The Army is showing off its ability to quickly move defensive and offensive missiles around the Pacific amid threats to U.S. bases in Japan. Click here to read more. Riki Ellison Interview on the Mike Buck Show In Riki Ellison on the Mike Buck Show on July 14, 2021. Click here to listen to the interview. NEWS MISSILE DEFENSE NEWS Afghanistan Installs Anti-Missile System at Kabul Airport-7/12/2021-The Defense Post Turkish Army to deploy Hisar missiles to boost air defense-7/12/2021-Daily Sabah Missile Defense Agency confirms deployment of cubesats launched by Virgin Orbit-7/13/2021-Space News House appropriators fund Hawaii missile defense radar, but cut dollars for Guam-7/12/2021-Defense News US Army to fire Patriot missile for first time in Australia during Talisman Sabre-7/14/2021-Stars and Stripes Italy and UK to Refurbish 1,000 Aster Missiles-7/15/2021-The Defense Post Israel’s Iron Dome Mistakenly Fired at Fighter Jet During May’s Gaza Fighting-7/15/2021-Haaretz PAC-3 and F-35 Team Up to Defeat Threat in US Army Flight Test-7/19/2021-ASD News US Army Launches Patriot Missiles During Talisman Saber 21-7/19/2021-U.S. Army US, Israel Agree to Improve Air Defenses-7/19/2021-Asharq Al-Awsat THREAT NEWS Russia tested 320 types of weapons in Syria-7/15/2021-Middle East Monitor Anti-aircraft gunners deploy S-400 missile launchers in Volga, Urals, and Siberia drills-7/15/2021-TASS Russian News Agency Russia Conducts Combat Readiness Exercise in New Regions-7/16/2021-The Defense Post Russia Test Fires Tsirkon Hypersonic Cruise Missile-7/19/2021-The Moscow Times OTHER NEWS In Europe, Lapid tells NATO chief Israel wants to deepen ties-7/12/2021-The Times of Israel Japan details a ‘sense of crisis’ over Taiwan in annual white paper-7/13/2021-Stars and Stripes U.S. Army launches tiny satellites to deliver new capabilities across the battlefield-7/14/2021-Defence Blog Germany establishes new military space command-7/14/2021-Defense News UK ‘very interested’ in hosting US Space Force radar station-7/19/2021- The Guardian Stay Connected: ‌ ‌ ‌ MDAA | 515 King Street, Suite 330, Alexandria, VA 22314 Unsubscribe [email protected] Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!