MISSILE DEFENSE MONDAYS March 1 - 7, 2022 THE WEEK IN BRIEF On Tuesday, USC President Carol L. Folt signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Space Force to bring the university into a select group of academic Space Force partners to bolster leadership development for students and faculty, enhance STEM, and research projects that foster national security objectives in the space domain. On Wednesday, Russia bombed a TV tower in Ukraine's capital on Tuesday and rained rockets on the city of Kharkiv as Moscow intensified its bombardment of Ukrainian urban areas in a shift of tactics after its six-day invasion stalled. On Thursday, the Slovak Ministry of Defense announced a NATO battle group will be deployed in Slovakia including 1,200 soldiers from Slovakia, Germany, and the Netherlands with the Patriot air defense missile systems. On Saturday, North Korea fired a single ballistic missile into waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the country’s ninth such test of the year. On Sunday, a U.S. defense official reported that since the start of its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, Russia has fired 600 missiles and that about 95 percent of Russia's amassed combat power is now inside Ukraine, with Russian troops fighting Ukrainian forces in Kherson and Mykolaiv and attempting to encircle Kyiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, and Mariupol. Click here to read all of this week's headlines. MDAA ALERTS Space Force Guardians Fight On! Another foundational step in setting a cauldron of Academic excellence for the National Security of our Nation and to compete to win against the Near Peers, the United States Space Force announced a historic partnership with the University of Southern California... Click here to read more. Unity In 1949, the United States, Canada, and several Western European countries joined together to create the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with the goal of providing collective security against the Soviet Union. Today, NATO has expanded into Eastern Europe... Click here to read more. MDAA WEBSITE UPDATES AND FEATURES Ukrainian War Updates Track the number and type of missiles used in the Ukrainian war, the number of casualties, and daily news highlights. Track updates on the Ukranian war. Ballistic Missile Basics Ballistic missiles are means to rapidly and accurately deliver a lethal payload to a target. The lethal payload can include conventional explosives, biological, chemical, or nuclear warheads. Ballistic missiles are very cheap, which makes their proliferation more likely... Learn more about ballistic missiles. MISSILE DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Technical Sergeant X. Victor Kearney TSgt Kearney is a Missile Warning and Defense Operator at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. As a Missile Defender, TSgt Kearney is in coordination with 67 entities and has dissemination responsibilities to seven subordinate commands with oversight of 375 thousand joint personnel on an ever-changing, high stakes operating environment encompassing the world’s largest area of responsibility. Through his expertise, TSgt Kearney is able to establish continuity in high operations tempo and high turnover environments to ensure the highest level of operations is achieved. Specifically, his initiative and utilization of prior North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Missile Defender experience has set the bar for his peers, through training five Joint Operations Center teams, consisting of 48 joint personnel comprising eight different duty descriptions, on missile system indications and battle staff processes. Most notably, TSgt Kearney’s operator knowledge led to a rapid assessment of a recent adversary missile launch which demonstrated never before seen capabilities. His continued thoroughness following the launch synced data points from seven entities leading to the creation of five job aids, six checklist changes, and additional training of five Joint Operations Center Directors, ensuring they have the technical knowledge to provide timely and accurate assessments when encountering similar “unusual” indications. Similarly, his meticulous attention to detail identified two critical server errors, which led to a network server audit that restored missile warning monitoring capabilities for 24 million allied civilians. TSgt Kearney enlisted in the Air Force on December 7, 2007. After completing Basic Training and graduating from the Satellite Command and Control Course at Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB), California, he was assigned to Schriever SFB, Colorado as his first duty station working as an SGLS/AEHF Operator for the MILSTAR constellation. His second duty location was Peterson SFB, Colorado, where he worked as a Space Control Operator in the 16th Space Defense Squadron. Prior to his current assignment, TSgt Kearney held numerous positions in NORAD and U.S. Northern Command on Peterson SFB, Colorado to include Primary Line Instructor, Crew Training Officer, and Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of the Simulations Cell at Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. He has also participated in Red Flag training exercises along with deployments to Iraq and Qatar.  Click here to view all the awardees from the 2021 U.S. Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony. MDAA IN THE NEWS In Fight Against Russia, Ukraine's Drone Capabilities Are Effective, But Limited - Haaretz - 3/2/2022 Ukraine is making good use of its drone supply in repelling Russian forces, an Israeli expert told Haaretz on Wednesday, but it may not be enough to turn the tide of battle. According to Tal Inbar... Click here to listen to the full interview. NEWS MISSILE DEFENSE NEWS Partnering for Innovation: How the U.S. Space Force and Millennium Space Systems are Enhancing Missile Defense - Air Force Magazine - 3/1/2022 THAAD remote launcher to be deployed to Rota - Saipan Tribune - 3/3/2022 Space Command looking to ground, ship-based missile defense radars to improve monitoring - Breaking Defense - 3/7/2022 US OK’s Powerful ‘Missile Defense System’ For Taiwan To Thwart Chinese Invasion Plans & Follow Russia’s Foot Steps - Eurasian Times - 3/7/2022 THREAT NEWS Russia bombards Ukraine urban areas as armed convoy stalls - Reuters - 3/2/2022 North Korea launches 9th missile test of the year - CNN - 3/4/2022 China to raise defense spending by 7.1% to $229 billion - ABC News - 3/5/2022 U.S. official says Russia has fired 600 missiles since start of Ukraine invasion - The Week - 3/6/2022 Iran: IRGC Unveils Underground Missile, Drone Bases - Eurasian Times - 3/6/2022 Ukraine officials confirm 8 Russian missiles struck city of Vinnytsia far from front line, airport destroyed - Fox News - 3/7/2022 US Official Says Yemen Rebels Fire Missile Into Busy Red Sea - US News - 3/7/2022 OTHER NEWS USC joins U.S. Space Force’s University Partnership Program - USC News - 3/1/2022 Ukraine Releases Video of Drone Demolishing Russian Missile Systems - NTD - 3/1/2022 Germany and Netherlands to deploy Patriot air defense missile systems in Slovakia after the invasion of Ukraine - Army Recognition - 3/3/2022 U.S. delays ICBM test-launch in bid to de-escalate Russia nuclear tensions - Reuters - 3/3/2022 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!