On Thursday, September 1, it was reported that the United States is expected to supply Taiwan with new advanced weapons and technology to combat the surge in Chinese drone invasions of Taiwanese air space. The U.S. State Department is drawing up an arms package worth $1.1 billion for Taiwan under its foreign military sales program. With the recent appearance of Chinese drones close to Taiwanese islands, U.S. defense sources said it was reasonable to expect that counter-measure systems would be included in the arms shipment.

Also on Thursday, September 1, Taiwan’s military for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast on Thursday, after the government vowed to take tough measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own against the strong objections of the Taipei government, has held military exercises around the island since early last month in reaction to a visit to Taipei by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Taiwan’s government has said it will not provoke or escalate tensions but has been particularly angered recently by repeated cases of Chinese drones buzzing islands controlled by Taiwan close to China’s coast.

On Friday, September 2, the U.S. Navy’s next-generation subsonic aerial target (SSAT), the BQM-177A, reached full operational capability during a successful standard missile launch and intercept while participating in Pacific Vanguard 2022 (PV 22) in the Philippine Sea, Aug. 28. The target drones were launched from the Lewis and Clark-class dry cargo ship USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3) and engaged with missiles launched from Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) and Royal Australian Navy Anzac-class frigate HMAS Perth (FFH 157), marking the first time the BQM-177A has been used in the Western Pacific region and highlighting the drones achieving full operational capability.

On Monday, September 5, the Israel Missile Defense Organization (IMDO), the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Israeli Air Defense Command and the U.S. Air and Missile Defense Task Force held a joint simulation training exercise focused on protecting Israel from ballistic threats. The drill took place in late July at the Israeli Test-Bed (ITB) battle lab, developed by Elisra (a subsidiary of Elbit Systems). The ITB can simulate both Israeli and American air-defense systems and can display and record real-time data to assist in debriefings. During the simulation training exercise, the Israeli forces operated the Arrow, David’s Sling and Iron Dome air-defense systems. The American forces operated the Patriot, Aegis and THAAD systems.

On Tuesday, September 6, it was reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin attended large-scale military exercises involving Chinese forces and the militaries of several other Russia-friendly countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told local news agencies. The Vostok-2022 (East 2022) joint military exercises began on September 1 and are being held amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and at a time when both Moscow and Beijing face tensions with the United States. Putin was at the Sergeevski military range on Tuesday to meet with Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov and would observe the final phase of the military exercises, Peskov was quoted as saying.

Also on Tuesday, September 6, it was reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense is in the process of purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea for its ongoing war in Ukraine, according to a newly downgraded U.S. intelligence finding. A U.S. official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence determination, said Monday that the fact Russia is turning to the isolated state of North Korea demonstrates that “the Russian military continues to suffer from severe supply shortages in Ukraine, due in part to export controls and sanctions.” U.S. intelligence officials believe that the Russians could look to purchase additional North Korean military equipment in the future. The intelligence finding was first reported by the New York Times.

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