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On Wednsday, December 21, according to Collin Meisel, a defense advisory group, in an info page written for Riki Ellison’s ever-vigilant Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), “Given the M-7’s lack of ability to execute ‘precision strike’ missions, and its lack of mention in recent annual reports to Congress by the Office of the Secretary of Defense on ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the [PRC],’ the M-7 does not appear to play a crucial role in the PRC’s ballistic missile arsenal other than the sheer numbers it adds to their estimated 1,200-strong SRBM inventory.”
On Friday, December 23, new Japanese and U.S. missiles have the potential to overwhelm China’s powerful and rapidly growing navy in a conflict, according to a U.S. security expert. Although China has grown its navy to more than 350 vessels and continues to build more, the two allies can produce many more missiles to strike at them, retired Marine Col. Grant Newsham, a senior researcher with the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies in Tokyo, said in an email Thursday. The exercise proved that SM-3 surface-to-air missiles are capable of a long-distance strike from Japan’s Aegis-equipped destroyers, Riki Ellison, founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, said in an email Nov. 28. Japan will also likely employ SM-6 missiles launched from trucks, which the U.S. Army does already, Ellison said in an email Thursday.
On Sunday, January 1, the Army decided that it is planning two additional tests of its hypersonic missile before fielding it to the first unit at by late 2023. The Navy is a co-developer of the missile with the Army and the next step will mark the first time the Army and Navy together launch the full missile using the ground support equipment. Lt. Gen. Robert Rasch, head of the service’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office, did not disclose the timing of the tests due to security reasons, originally reported by Army Times sister publication Defense News.
On Monday, January 2, the report to Congress on December 21 of 2022 on Aegis ballistic missile defense was released. The Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy, gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. BMD-capable Aegis ships operate in European waters to defend Europe from potential ballistic missile attacks from countries such as Iran, and in in the Western Pacific and the Persian Gulf to provide regional defense against potential ballistic missile attacks from countries such as North Korea and Iran. The number of BMD-capable Aegis ships has been growing over time.
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