MISSILE DEFENSE MONDAYS May 24 - May 31, 2022 THE WEEK IN BRIEF On Wednesday, May 25, North Korea launched three missiles, one of which is presumed to be an intercontinental ballistic missile, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. The tests came days before US President Joe Biden’s first presidential trip to Asia. Also on Wednesday, Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced his country is launching the second phase of its mid-range air defense program by requesting the U.S. government sell it six Patriot batteries with related gear. The value of the planned procurement was not disclosed. The first Patriot contract, under which two Configuration 3+ batteries are to be delivered to Warsaw this year, came with a $4.75 billion price tag.“We draw lessons from what is happening across our eastern border,” the minister said while unveiling Poland’s acquisition of MBDA’s Common Anti-air Modular Missile, or CAMM, for the country’s envisioned Narew short-range air defense system. On Monday, May 30, China made the second largest incursion into Taiwan's air defence zone this year consisting of 30 jets entering the area, including more than 20 fighters. Taiwan's defence ministry said late Monday it had scrambled its own aircraft and deployed air defence missile systems to monitor the latest Chinese activity. On Tuesday, May 31, Russia successfully fired its new hypersonic Zircon cruise missile ahead of the weapon’s debut on warships in the coming weeks, its defence ministry said. It was launched from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the Barents Sea, and hit its target some 625 miles away in the White Sea, Russia’s defence ministry announced. “According to objective control data, the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile successfully hit a sea target located at a distance of about 1,000 km,” its statement read. Also on Tuesday, May 31, South Korea approved a 750 billion won ($605 million) project Monday to upgrade its Patriot missile defense system by 2027, the state arms procurement agency said, in the wake of North Korea's recent missile provocations. The Defense Project Promotion Committee endorsed the project to procure an unspecified number of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missile interceptors and upgrade the PAC-2 launchers into more advanced PAC-3 launchers, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). Click here to read all of this week's headlines. MDAA ALERTS That's The Commitment We Made With this clear public commitment from the 47th United States President to China, the United States must strengthen its posture in the Indo-Pacific region in order to ensure it is well positioned to support Taiwan in the event of Chinese Communist Party aggression. Guam would be the foremost... Click here to read more. There Ain't No Mountain High Enough “In my view, missile defense of the Homeland starts with the strategic deterrent to include the options and survivability provided by a reliable and effective nuclear triad; but as I testified before the full committee... 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 conflict in Ukraine. Sweden Historically a proponent of neutrality, Sweden has recently announced plans to join NATO in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sweden’s foreign policy focuses on supporting democracy and nuclear disarmament, which are key due to Sweden’s proximity to Russia.... Click here to read more about Sweden MISSILE DEFENDER OF THE WEEK Sergeant Raymond Ruschel SGT Ruschel is currently assigned as the Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge (NCOIC) of NASAMS team 11, 2nd Squad, NASAMS 2nd Platoon, Shooter Battery, 1-188th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) Regiment. SGT Ruschel has become a National Capital Region (NCR) mission subject matter expert and spends most of his scheduled commanders time visiting the NASAMS sites, sharing his knowledge and quizzing the other NASAMS teams. SGT Ruschel completed Distributed Leader Course II and Senior Enlisted Joint Professional Military Education as well. Additionally, SGT Ruschel volunteered for 130 hours of charitable work with local Non-Governmental Organizations. This work was conducted during his unscheduled Commander’s time and inspired one crew member to volunteer for 40 hours as well and another crew member to complete 30 volunteer hours. Team 11 has consistently maintained a high level of NASAMS knowledge, shared their knowledge with their peers, and volunteered for many other duties and tasks throughout the NCR mission. Team 11 was assembled one month before Exercise America’s Shield (EAS), and each Crew Member has a different Military Occupation Specialty. At the beginning of EAS, Team 11 struggled with some of their initial VIP site briefs and NASAMS general knowledge. Team 11 acknowledged this pitfall and concentrated their efforts to be the most knowledgeable and most prepared NASAMS Team. By the end of Culminating Training Exercise (CTE), Team 11 was helping other teams study site briefs and general knowledge and each crew member received challenge coins from VIPs for excellent performance during CTE. SGT Ruschel began his military service 2007 when he enlisted into the Pennsylvania Army National Guard as an Automatic Rifleman. In March of 2019, he interstate transferred into the North Dakota Army National Guard as an Avenger Crewmember. He was a graduate of Avenger Crewmember PH1 and Avenger Crewmember PH2 in March 2021. SGT Ruschel is currently enrolled at North Dakota State College of Sciences pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Business Management. SGT Ruschel’s deployments include Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan (2010), Operation Inherent Resolve (2016-2017) in Jordan, Operation Noble Eagle (2021-2022) in the National Capital Region. Sgt Ruschel has a daughter, Chloe (23), and a son Connor (25) that reside in Flat Rock, Michigan. Sgt Ruschel works at MINNDAK in Wahpeton, North Dakota as a Top Mechanic. Click here to view all the awardees from the 2022 National Capital Region Air and Missile Defender of the Year Award Ceremony. NEWS MISSILE DEFENSE NEWS Missile Defense Agency Eyes Command Center for Guam - Defense One - 5/24/2022 Rubio, Colleagues Push to Fully Fund U.S.-Israel Missile Defense Cooperation - The Office of Senator Marco Rubio - 5/24/2022 Guam Would Get Command Center With Integrated Air Picture in Missile Defense Agency Budget - Air Force Magazine - 5/26/2022 Hawaii’s Congressional Leaders Back Off Missile Defense System - Honolulu Civil Beat - 5/26/2022 Senators push to fully fund US-Israel missile defense cooperation - The Jerusalem Post - 5/27/2022 Joint all domain operations and the future of missile defence - Air Force Technology - 5/31/2022 THREAT NEWS North Korea tests presumed ICBM and two other missiles, South Korea says - CNN - 5/25/2022 US, South Korea Retaliate Against North - Al Manar News - 5/26/2022 INDOPACOM Condemns ‘Destabilizing’ North Korean Missile Test as Biden Returned From the Pacific - Air Force Magazine - 5/26/2022 Russia fires hypersonic missile capable of reaching target 600 miles away - The Independent - 5/31/2022 China makes second largest Taiwan defence zone incursion this year - France 24 - 5/31/2022 Iranian-backed group attacks US base in Iraq with rockets – report - The Jerusalem Post - 5/31/2022 OTHER NEWS Drone swarms may be key to defending Taiwan - Asia Times - 5/24/2022 Poland requests six additional Patriot batteries from the United States - Defense News - 5/25/2022 Turkey On An Indigenization Spree! Now Works On Missile Defense System ‘Siper’ After Grand Success With TB2 Drones - The Eurasian Times - 5/31/2022 Korea approves project to upgrade Patriot missile defense system - The Korea Times - 5/31/2022 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!