On Tuesday, August 9, the United States announced $1 billion in additional security aid for Ukraine that includes ammunition for much-anticipated air defense systems that Kyiv has said are critical to defending against long-range Russian missile attacks. The package also includes thousands of rounds of ammunition for the ground artillery and rocket systems that are defining the current ground battle. The package includes another 75,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery, 1,000 Javelin anti-tank weapons, HIMARS ammunition, and, for the first time, medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile defense capabilities Ukraine will get from Norway.

On Wednesday, August 10, China’s homemade FH-95 electronic warfare and armed reconnaissance drone passed a milestone performance test, providing a new dimension to the nation’s electronic warfare capabilities, according to the Communist Party-run Global Times. Citing the Beijing-based magazine Unmanned Vehicles, the Global Times report said that the FH-95, manufactured by Aerospace Times Feihong Technology Corporation (ATFTC) under the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, last month completed a successful test at an undisclosed air base.

On Thursday, August 11, it was announced that Northern Command is wrapping up testing of the Long Range Discrimination Radar for missile defense, and expects that it will be operational within “months,” according to Brig. Gen. Joey Lestorti, head of the command’s J3 operations directorate. “We are literally months away from being able to plug in the Long Range Discrimination Radar, LRDR, in the missile defense operational architecture. From the testing so far we are seeing positive results for what this radar can do for us, discriminating threats to the continental US to make ground-based interceptor engagements more lethal,” he told the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., today. Lestorti said that domain awareness is the “top priority” for NORTHCOM Commander Gen. Glen VanHerck and noted that the LRDR would help make substantial progress.

On Friday, August 12, Taiwan and the US announced that they have renewed a missile engineering service contract to better maintain the performance of the island’s Patriot-3 missile defence system. The NT$2.5 billion (US$83 million) contract will help Taiwan’s military assess and improve the performance of its Patriot-3 missile system in the next 4½ years, according to the Taiwanese defence ministry. Citing military sources, CNA reported the service would ensure the reliability and precision strike capacity of the system’s missiles. The contract was signed between the island’s military delegation and the American Institute in Taiwan, the US representative office on the island in the absence of formal ties, and will expire on December 31, 2026, the CNA report said.

On Monday, August 15, it was reported that protecting the continental U.S. and Guam from missiles and hypersonic weapons are the top priorities for the Missile Defense Agency. At the top of the list is ensuring the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system is capable now and in the future of protecting the homeland from not only intercontinental ballistic missile threats from hostile nations including North Korea and Iran, but also from emerging threats such as hypersonic weapons.

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