QATAR SEEKS AMERICAN DEFENSES
The July 14th signing ceremony in Washington between U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Qatar's Minister of State for Defense Affairs, Hamad bin Ali al-Atiyah, has cemented a growing partnership on defense issues. As part of the warming defense ties, Qatar has agreed to purchase 10 Patriot batteries, 24 Apache helicopters, and 500 Javelin anti-tank missiles from the United States for roughly $11 billion. (Defense News, July 14, 2014)
MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS FOR CIVIL AIRCRAFT?
American commercial aircraft may need to be equipped with missile defense systems, a leading U.S. lawmaker has suggested. Following the attack on a Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine, Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill) has declared that he will contact the Federal Aviation Administration to look into installing defenses on civilian aircraft as protection against the proliferation of surfaQatar seeks American defenses;
Missile defense systems for civil aircraft?;
More difficulties for GBI;
South Korean missile shield irks the Kremlin;
China increasing nuclear arsenal;
Deliberations on east coast site continuece-to-air missiles worldwide. "It's not too technically difficult to add a radar warning system on an aircraft, where a pilot in command could dispense chaff to defeat a radar guided missile," Kirk noted. (Washington Post, July 18, 2014)
MORE DIFFICULTIES FOR GBI
Congress is struggling to assess how effectively the U.S. can counter long-range missile threats. The Government Accountability Office's recent report on Missile Defense Agency (MDA) efforts to improve the reliability and accuracy of Ground-Based Interceptors cites missing and unclear data on exactly how enhancements make the failure-plagued system more reliable. According to the GAO, the Agency has not provided Congress with properly detailed reports on specific programs such as the new guidance software on first and second generation kill vehicles, failing to describe exactly how the changes impacted performance. (Global Security Newswire, July 22, 2014)
SOUTH KOREAN MISSILE SHIELD IRKS THE KREMLIN
The U.S. has proposed stationing a THAAD battery in South Korea as a means of countering the North Korean threat, generating a firestorm of criticism from the Kremlin in the process. Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, has publicly spoken out against the proposal, suggesting that it will contribute to instability in the Asia-Pacific theater. "This development will inevitably have a negative impact on the strategic situation in the region and could provoke an arms race in Northeast Asia," Lavrov has told reporters. (The Moscow Times, July 24, 2014)
CHINA INCREASING NUCLEAR ARSENAL
A recent document from China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has further confirmed suspicions that China is expanding its nuclear deterrent and missile forces. According to the PLA study, a copy of which was obtained by the South China Morning Post, China is planning to “appropriately increase the number of nuclear warheads” in its arsenal, as well as build up its stocks of non-nuclear warheads for its strategic missile command. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the PRC currently possesses roughly 250 deployable nuclear warheads. (South China Morning Post, August 4, 2014)
DELIBERATIONS ON EAST COAST SITE CONTINUE
The Pentagon's controversy-plagued Ground-based Midcourse Defense system may soon be deployed at a third location in the continental United States as a compliment to existing facilities in Greely, Alaska and at Vandenberg Air Force base in California. Defense Department officials visited Rangeley, Maine in August to assess the area as a potential site for East Coast missile defense. Reportedly, Loring Air Force Base in Maine was removed from consideration. However, Navy property near Rangeley, along with sites at Fort Drumm in New York, Camp Ravenna Joint Military Training Center in Ohio, and Fort Custer Training Center in Michigan all remain under consideration. (Washington Times, August 11, 2014)
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