On Tuesday night, American transport planes landed in Israel for the in-person phase of the joint Juniper Flacon exercise between the United States and Israel. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the air-defense exercise was largely held remotely.
It was also reported on Tuesday that Russia had released video footage for the first time of a S-500 missile test. The Russian military confirmed that the test was successful, as the air defense system intercepted a high-speed ballistic target.
On Thursday, the Air Force announced that Peterson, Schriever, and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Bases would officially become Space Force Bases. The three bases in Colorado are home to the largest concentration of Space Force members and house several space-based operations, including missile defense.
On Saturday, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, launched four SM-6 Dual II missiles from the USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) to intercept two short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) targets launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii. The test was described as the most complex test conducted by MDA to date and resulted in the intercept of at least one of the SRBM targets.
On Sunday, TASS Russian News Agency announced that Russia would conduct a test of the Tsirkon hypersonic missile from a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine. The planned test comes after Russia successfully tested the Tsirkon missile at a ground-target from a frigate on July 19.
