THIS WEEK IN MISSILE DEFENSE

November 23 - December 6, 2019

THE WEEK IN BRIEF

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Last Saturday, General Kenneth F. McKenzie – the head of the military’s Central Command warned of an Iranian attack in the Middle East. The general said that America’s addition of 14,000 troops in the Persian Gulf since the spring would probably not deter Iran from carrying out a major strike.

Last Monday, Turkey tested a component of its newly acquired Russian air defense system, a step that risks escalating a dispute with the U.S. and touching off possible sanctions. Military aircraft was used in the capital Ankara during the testing of the S-400 system’s radar-detection equipment.

Last Tuesday, the Israeli military’s missile defenses intercepted a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip at southern Israel. The army identified two projectiles fired from the Palestinian enclave. One was intercepted by an Iron Dome missile defense battery. It was the second incident last week.

This Tuesday, North Korea said that dialogue with the United States has been nothing but a “foolish trick” and warned Washington that it could be on the receiving end of an unwelcome Christmas gift. The North Korean regime has given the United States until the end of the year to drop its “hostile policy.”

This Wednesday, South Korea and China agreed to beef up diplomatic and cultural exchanges to “completely normalize” ties that soured over the deployment of U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system in 2017. Relations between the countries were strained by the dispute that erupted over the installation of the U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea.

Click here to read all of the headlines from the week.

MDAA ALERTS

Walking on Sunshine

On the Korean Peninsula, North Korea has reached the apex in its charm offensive, maxing out its options and still not able to get the reaction from the West it seeks. Lifting crippling economic sanctions, recognition as a nuclear state, eliminating U.S. strategic presence on the Peninsula, and preserving its dictatorship...

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Echoing in Guam

Task Force Talon was created to command and deploy a temporary operational capability of a THAAD battery into Guam in 2013 to defend the American Territory from North Korea Ballistic Missiles and the intent of Kim Jong Un “seriously examining the plan for an enveloping strike at Guam through simultaneous fire of four...

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MDAA WEBSITE UPDATES AND FEATURES

S-400 Triumf Air Defense System

The S-400 Triumf is a mobile medium- and long-range air defense system. The S-400 began development in the 1990s and was first deployed in 2007. The system uses four different types of interceptors to destroy various airborne targets and also has the capability to use some S-300 legacy missiles.

Learn more about S-400

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

Terminal High Altitude Area Defense

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) element provides the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) with a globally transportable, rapidly deployable capability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or just outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal...

Learn more about THAAD

MISSILE DEFENDER OF THE WEEK

First Lieutenant Jordan Mays

1st Lt Mays is a Deputy Flight Commander for the 11th SWS at Buckley AFB, Colorado. He leads a flight of 34 active duty, reserve, and multinational military personnel executing global infrared surveillance and reporting for over 150K deployed joint warfighters across six geographic combatant commands. 1st Lt Mays directs command and control of the $32.6B SBIRS satellite constellation, 18 antennas, and six ground stations located around the world. He reports decisive first assessment and validation of worldwide missile launches to national leaders, the Commander of U.S. Strategic Command, and United States allied partners. In 2018, 1st Lt Mays completed his SBIRS Mission Commander certification with the Air Force’s highest evaluation score, mastering more than 420 hours of training and 54 job tasks related to missile detection. His expertise helped drive a record setting operations year at Buckley AFB, where over 805 missiles launches and over 20,000 major infrared events were detected and reported, an increase of 52% from 2017, which is the highest level of global activity to date. Additionally, his leadership was critical to his mission cell being recognized as the best in his squadron and the only error-free mission operations team for 2018. His crew flawlessly executed the detection and collection of 8,850 infrared events, including the reporting of a high-visibility foreign intercept test that the intelligence community and Secretary of Defense commended the crew for their performance. 1st Lt Mays commissioned through the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2015, where he received his B.S. in Business Management. While at the Academy, he played NCAA Division 1 Football, appearing in three bowl games and winning three Commander-In-Chief Trophies. 1st Lt Mays served his first duty assignment at Cavalier AFS, North Dakota. He led operations for a 36-member crew and focused on grooming operators for instructor and evaluator duties, while overseeing unit evaluations. He arrived at Buckley AFB in 2017 to serve in the Overhead Persistent OBAC, which provides users with real time battlespace awareness by coordinating directly with Combatant Commanders. 1st Lt Mays helped lead the first initiative to integrate OBAC capabilities into the 607th AOC at Osan AB, South Korea, during exercises Ulchi Freedom Guardian and Key Resolve.