The Royal Navy destroyer Daring pulls alongside the US destroyer Chafee in the Pacific Ocean in July. The head of the UK Royal Navy said Daring is conducting tests in the Pacific to see what role British vessels might play in ballistic-missile defense. (MC2 Sean Furey/Navy)

Sep. 11, 2013 - By ANDREW CHUTER – Defense news

LONDON — One of the UK Royal Navy’s new Type 45 destroyers is conducting tests to establish whether the warships could provide British forces with theater ballistic-missile defense (TBMD) capabilities for the first time, according to the head of the Royal Navy.

First Sea Lord Adm. Sir George Zambellas, said during a speech to industry executives and military personnel on the opening day of the DSEi defense exhibition on Tuesday that “The type is on trials in the Pacific to explore the ballistic-missile defense capabilities that are ready to be exploited, bringing strategic opportunities to the vessel.”

The Type 45 destroyer Daring, one of six Type 45s built by BAE for the Royal Navy, has been in the Pacific for several weeks, having departed its Portsmouth base this summer for a wide-ranging nine-month deployment, which the Royal Navy said in May would include science and technology trials.

The work is being done as part of a US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) research and development test.

In March, the UK Missile Defence Centre (MDC) revealed it was collaborating with industry and the MDA to “explore the potential of the Royal Navy’s destroyers to conduct TBMD missions.”

The MDC said at the time that the new BAE Systems Sampson radar fitted to the Type 45s would be used in detecting and tracking ballistic targets during the MDA tests.

The radar is part of the Sea Viper anti-air missile system, which includes the MBDA-developed Aster 30 weapon.

Successful satellite tracking experiments involving Sampson have already been conducted.

In May, the UK Defence Ministry confirmed it was talking to Aster 30 partners France and Italy about developing an extended-range version of a missile already used by the French and Italian armies to intercept incoming missiles

While there is no program to adapt the Type 45 to include TBMD capability, the trials support the possibility of such a move once a decision whether to go down that route is made by the British government.

NATO is already moving to strengthen its TBMD capabilities, including on the maritime front. Raytheon has been doing preparatory technology work as part of an effort to interest European navies, such as the Dutch and Germans in its Standard Missile-3.

While Zambellas pointed to tests that could see the Royal Navy adding capabilities to allow it to work alongside the US Navy’s Aegis-equipped ballistic-missile defense warships, Britain’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond also boosted the Royal Navy’s air defenses with a contract announcement on the Sea Ceptor missile.

Speaking at DSEi, Hammond said the MoD had signed a £250 million (US $392 million) production contract to provide the anti-air missile defenses for the Type 23 frigate starting 2016 and future Type 26 frigate sometime in the early 2020s.

The UK government and MBDA signed a £483 million development contract in late 2011.

Overall, naval matters dominated the opening day of DSEi.

BAE announced a £22 million contract to support and maintain the Royal Navy’s River-class offshore patrol vessels.

Rolls-Royce unveiled the design for a new family of maritime patrol craft starting with a 500-ton, 55-meter vessel, while first time DSEi exhibitor CTruk launched an 11-meter, twin-hulled, fast-attack raider capable of speeds in excess of 40 knots.

The marine side of the British engine maker set up a naval ship design team last year, and the patrol craft, complete with Rolls-Royce systems ranging from propellers to steering gear, is the first product of that effort.

A 90-meter design is set to follow by the end of the year and a 75-meter variant sometime in 2014.

The Rolls-Royce marine business is expected to be named the gas turbine supplier for the Type 26 on Wednesday, as BAE announces a first wave of equipment selections for the upcoming frigate program.

CTruk is a small, British-based boat designer best known for building offshore wind-support vessels, although it is moving into the defense sector.

MOSCOW, September 11 (RIA Novosti)

The development of Russia's formidable S-500 air defense system will be completed in 2015, and the system could be put in service with the Russian military as early as in 2017, the manufacturer, Almaz-Antey, said Wednesday.

“We must finish the S-500 development in 2015. There have been no changes in schedule,” Almaz-Antey general director Vitaly Neskorodov told RIA Novosti, commenting on reports that the development could be delayed.

“The testing will take two or three years, so the first deliveries could take place in 2017-2018,” Neskorodov said.

The S-500, a long-range air defense missile system, is expected to become the backbone of a unified aerospace defense system being formed in Russia.

The system will have an extended range of up to 600 kilometers (370 miles) and simultaneously engage up to 10 targets.

The Russian military has demanded that the system must be capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and hypersonic cruise missiles, and plans to order at least 10 battalions of S-500s for the future Russian Aerospace Defense Forces.

The S-500 could become a trump card in Russia’s response to the US-backed European missile shield, which Moscow believes may threaten Russia’s nuclear deterrent.

A Medium Extended Air Defense System missile launches to intercept a target in November. Lockheed Martin is pursuing missile defense partnerships in the Middle East and Europe after the US announced it was backing out of the MEADS program. (US Army)

Sep. 11, 2013 - By PAUL McLEARY – Defense news

WASHINGTON — Like other US defense companies looking for international opportunities amid Pentagon spending cuts, Lockheed Martin executives say they’re aggressively pursuing missile defense business in the Middle East and Europe, and hope to make a controversial program the centerpiece of this effort.

The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), a partnership between the United States, Italy and Germany, is gearing up for its final test in November, after which the US Army — after spending $2 billion on the program — will back out, leaving its two European partners to decide what to do next.

Germany and Italy have long vowed to continue work on the 360-degree missile-detection radar system. However, there is little chance they can pool the money to make up for the US funding that will go away.

Still, Mike Trotsky, vice president of Air & Missile Defense at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, which has helped develop the program, told reporters on Tuesday that the company is looking at a Polish missile defense program as a possible landing pad for MEADS.

“The Poles have the most mature acquisition that’s going on right now,” he said. “But we see a market for anybody who has aging short to medium-range air missile defense systems.”

Trotsky also said that the German and Italian governments might also be able to join with the Polish government to keep MEADS going after the Americans pull the plug, incorporating it into a larger Europe-wide missile defense system.

There are other opportunities for the system elsewhere in the Middle East and Asia, he said, where governments “have expressed informal interest, but nothing as formal as the Polish program, which actually has a budget.”

MEADS would have to beat out other European and Israeli systems to win the Polish deal.

While the US Army is backing out of continued funding for the program, Congress has mandated that the government consider harvesting what it can from the $2 billion investment already made in developing the system.

“The US also has a 30-year plan for air and missile defense that runs into the tens of billions of dollars,” Trotsky pointed out. Since Lockheed has developed two modern sensors, “I suspect what you’ll see is that those items get merged” into the long-term missile defense strategy, he said.

A day before Trotsky’s comments, Lockheed announced that a German launcher had arrived in the United States for integration ahead to the November test at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

MEADS had a successful intercept test there last November using the Italian configuration launcher, and MEADS authorities are planning to use the two European launchers in this year’s two-target flight test.

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept. 10, 2013 – lockheedmartin.com

The first Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) launcher on a German truck has arrived in the United States, ready for integration into a future test scenario.

Based on the success of the intercept test last November at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., MEADS authorities are planning to use two launchers in the two-target flight test scheduled for later this year. The original launcher is in the Italian configuration and has been used in previous tests. Originally, only the Italian-configured launcher was planned for use in this year’s flight test.

In addition to the Italian and German configuration launchers, there is also a U.S. design that is easily transportable and tactically mobile. Each MEADS launcher can carry up to eight PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missiles and achieve launch readiness in just minutes.

The MEADS launchers have two main features that stand out from the air and missile defense (AMD) launchers currently fielded. The first is the ability of the MEADS launchers to self-load. An integrated crane arm can pick up and release expended missile packs, then grab and position a full eight-missile reload within minutes. The second is the ability to launch the PAC-3 MSE in a near-vertical position to defend assets in all 360 degrees of possible attack space.

In two previous tests at White Sands Missile Range, the MEADS launchers have demonstrated unprecedented over-the-shoulder launches of a PAC-3 MSE against targets attacking from behind.

“360-degree coverage has become increasingly important as our nations deal with evolving threats from highly maneuverable cruise missiles to easily re-locatable short- and medium-range tactical ballistic missiles,” said NATO MEADS Management Agency (NAMEADSMA) General Manager Gregory Kee. “As our forces enter future conflicts, the threat will no longer stay in front of them – that’s why the investment in MEADS 360-degree technology is so important.”

Using its 360-degree defensive capability and advanced radars, MEADS can defend up to eight times the coverage area of other systems while deploying far fewer system assets. MEADS needs fewer deployed personnel and less equipment to get to the fight sooner.

“MEADS can see and intercept 21st century threats from farther away without blind spots,” said MEADS International President Dave Berganini. “The networked, plug-and-fight MEADS system elements continue to demonstrate capabilities of an AMD force of the future that also dramatically reduces operational and support costs.”

MEADS International, a multinational joint venture headquartered in Orlando, Fla., is the prime contractor for the MEADS system. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Germany and Italy, and Lockheed Martin in the United States. MBDA Germany is the Design Authority for the MEADS launcher.

The MEADS program management agency NAMEADSMA is located in Huntsville, Ala.

Sep 10, 2013 (Voice of Russia)

Moscow  - Russia is developing a fifth-generation unmanned fighter jet and a completely new missile defense system which can simultaneously engage several supersonic targets in space, it has been revealed at the MAKS-2013 airshow.

The fifth-generation unmanned aircraft, weighing in at around 20 tons, takes after the T-50 fighter jet, with most of its characteristics modeled after it, Mikhail Pogosyan, president of Russia's united aircraft-building corporation, told RIA Novosti at the MAKS-2013 show in Zhukovsky, just outside Moscow, which displayed the latest in air combat technology.

"We are working in accordance with plans developed together with the Defense Ministry. At this stage this implies further preliminary testing. The current stage is largely based on the technological breakthroughs we have achieved in the framework of the 'fifth generation' program," Pogosyan told the Russian ITAR-TASS agency, in reference to the upcoming drone.

With a fifth-generation PAK-FA heavy attack jet already developed and planned to enter service in 2016, Russian aviation is also looking to the future of air combat, conducting research and development for aircraft that can dominate airspace by the mid-21st century.

The news comes on the heels of a Thursday announcement by the Russian aircraft construction corporation, which signed a $90 billion deal with the Defense Ministry. Under the contract, the ministry will have its technology and equipment built and serviced by Russia's aircraft builders for the next three years, Pogosyan said at the MAKS-2013 show.

National media reports that on top of the new deal, another $3 billion contract has come into effect, stipulating, aside from the servicing of equipment, that the Defense Ministry shall receive 65 new fighter jets by the end of 2013.

Another exciting development in the Russian high-tech weapons market is the possible 2017 launch of the promising S-500 anti-aircraft missile system. The Friday news comes courtesy of a top Ministry of Defense figure, speaking to ITAR-TASS.

"A promising anti-aircraft missile system S-500 is being designed now," the source said. "The Armed Forces may have it in 2017." The special feature of the formidable new lineup is the ability to lock on to and engage multiple targets in space, never allowing them to reach Russian airspace.

Moscow has been making attempting leaps in combat technology - especially missile defense - given the uneasy international climate it finds itself in currently. The plan for a better missile defense is a direct answer to the United States' idea for a missile shield in Europe, which it says is for defensive purposes against unpredictable regimes such as Iran and North Korea. Russia is not feeling very secure with the proposed system to be so close to its territories.

Aside from the pursuit of fifth-generation technologies, Russia is also actively developing an unmanned sixth generation aircraft, said a former Air Force commander. Unlike NATO allies who will use American F-35 5Gs, self-sufficiency is an absolute must for Russia, said the commander, so 6G evolution is inevitable.

With regard to missile defense, Russia is currently using the S-400 Triumph, which has a range of 400 kilometers. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Armed Forces are to acquire 28 systems from the current lineup over the next 10 years.

Sept 11, 2013 spacewar.com  (AFP)

Seoul - South Korea will show off a cruise missile capable of surgical strikes on the North Korean leadership when it stages a military parade in Seoul next month, the defence ministry said Wednesday.

The parade on October 1 marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of South Korea's armed forces and is held every five years.

Around 11,000 troops will take part along with picks from the South's military arsenal, including tanks, artillery and rockets and a fly-over involving air force helicopters and jet fighters, a ministry official said.

Also on display will be the Hyeonmu 3, an indigenously developed cruise missile that was first deployed on naval destroyers in November last year.

Two days after North Korea carried out its third nuclear test on February 12, the South's defence ministry called in the media for a video presentation of the Hyeonmu's capabilities.

"It is a precision-guided weapon that can identify and strike the office window of the North's command headquarters," ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok told reporters at the time.

The North's nuclear test triggered two months of heightened military tensions on the Korean peninsula that witnessed almost daily threats of strikes and counter-strikes.

The tensions have since eased and the two Koreas are currently making progress on resuming a series of suspended cross-border projects and programmes.

Yang Moo-Jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said South Korea should be wary of antagonising the North at such a sensitive time.

"In light of the current situation, a low-key event is more desirable than a large scale parade which is likely to irritate the North," Yang said.

But the event in Seoul will be nowhere near the scale of the mass display of military might the North put on in July to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.

MOSCOU, 11 septembre - RIA Novosti

Les autorités russes ont décidé d'aller dans le sens de l'Iran sur deux questions fondamentales: les livraisons de systèmes antiaériens S-300 modifiés et la construction d'un second réacteur à la centrale nucléaire de Bouchehr, écrit mercredi le quotidien Kommersant.

Selon une source proche du Kremlin, le président Vladimir Poutine a déjà ordonné l'élaboration de deux accords à cet effet, dont il discutera les détails vendredi prochain lors de son premier entretien avec le nouveau président iranien Hassan Rohani.

Selon la source du journal, la Russie fournira à l'Iran cinq divisions de systèmes sol-air S-300VM Anteï-2500 (version modifiée du S-300V prévue pour l’exportation). Condition de la transaction? Le retrait de la plainte déposée par Téhéran contre Rosoboronexport, l'exportateur russe d'armes, réclamant 4 milliards de dollars pour la rupture du contrat précédent.

Le contrat d’environ 800 millions de dollars pour la fourniture à l'Iran de cinq divisions de S-300 (version PMU-1) a été signé en 2007. Trois ans plus tard le Conseil de sécurité des Nations unies avait adopté des sanctions contre l'Iran, comprenant l'interdiction de lui vendre des armes modernes. En septembre 2010, le président Dmitri Medvedev avait alors signé un décret pour mettre en application cette résolution et même adopter des sanctions plus sévères qu'il n'était prévu par la décision du Conseil de sécurité. En particulier, le contrat pour la livraison des S-300 avait été annulé. L'Iran avait alors saisi la cour d'arbitrage de Genève pour attaquer Rosoboronexport, suite à quoi la Russie avait proposé un accord à l'amiable en promettant des systèmes sol-air Tor-M1E. Cet échange avait été rejeté par l'Iran.

Cette fois Téhéran devrait accepter les livraisons d'Anteï-2500. "Ce système est même meilleur pour l'Iran que le S-300PMU-1: il est plus efficace pour contrer les missiles, explique Vladimir Evseev, directeur du Centre d'études sociopolitiques. Et si l'Iran était attaqué, ce serait d’abord par des missiles. De ce fait, Anteï-2500 convient parfaitement pour les fins défensives de l'Iran." Selon l'expert, les Anteï-2500 ne sont pas formellement concernés par le décret de Medvedev.

La seconde directive de Poutine concerne la coopération dans le secteur nucléaire: selon la source, Moscou serait prêt à signer avec Téhéran un accord pour la construction d'un second réacteur à Bouchehr. "Ce projet n'est pas très rentable du point de vue économique pour la Russie – il est plutôt politique", déclare la source de Kommersant.

Vladimir Poutine a l'intention d'évoquer ces deux thèmes avec le nouveau président Hassan Rohani le 13 septembre, lors de leur première rencontre en marge du sommet de l'Organisation de coopération de Shanghai (OCS) à Bichkek. "Ils discuteront de la coopération nucléaire, y compris à la centrale de Bouchehr – ce thème ne peut pas être évité", a déclaré le porte-parole du président russe Dmitri Peskov, ajoutant que les questions de coopération militaro-technique étaient également à l'ordre du jour.

Selon les experts, le point de vue commun des deux pays sur la situation en Syrie est un argument de poids pour le rapprochement de Moscou et Téhéran. "Nous nous sommes retrouvés dans la même barque. Nous voyons différemment l'avenir de la Syrie du point de vue stratégique mais sur le plan tactique les deux pays s'opposent à l'intervention des USA", déclare Vladimir Evseev. Selon les experts les différends entre la Russie et l'Occident, notamment les USA, s'accentuent, ce qui contribue également au rapprochement entre les deux pays. "Lors du dernier G20 Poutine s’est comporté comme un hôte qui ne cherchait pas la confrontation. Mais le sommet est terminé et cette fois il peut s'exprimer et riposter à l'annulation du sommet de Moscou par les Américains et à la sévère critique de la Russie vis-à-vis de sa position sur la Syrie, explique le président du centre PIR Vladimir Orlov. L'entretien avec le nouveau président iranien est très opportun." Toutefois, l'expert précise que l'intensité du rapprochement avec l'Iran dépendra principalement de l'évolution des relations entre la Russie et les Etats-Unis.

A missile launched by the destroyer Decatur on Tuesday hit and destroyed a ballistic-missile target as part of a joint missile-defense test in the western Pacific. (photo US Navy)

Sep. 10, 2013 - By SAM FELLMAN – Defense News

A U.S. destroyer tracked and destroyed an overhead ballistic missile as one of two successful shootdowns in a joint exercise early Tuesday in the western Pacific.

A Standard Missile-3 fired from the destroyer Decatur “successfully intercepted” a medium range ballistic missile target fired on an “operationally realistic” flight path, the Defense Department said in a news release Tuesday. In addition to Decatur, soldiers with Alpha Battery, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, shot down an incoming missile, making the exercise 2-for-2, in a live-fire test near Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

“All of our tests are hit-to-kill,” explained Missile Defense Agency spokesman Rick Lehner, when asked about what type of hit the target sustained. “They have to come into contact with the target to destroy it.”

The test results were a success for the Navy’s Aegis ballistic-missile defense system, which is becoming the future of the destroyer fleet, and the Army’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, in demonstrating layered tracking and intercept capabilities against realistic ballistic targets.

It’s the third straight successful Aegis BMD test, according to the MDA’s official record; the system hasn’t missed a target since a joint test last October and has 26 intercepts in 32 at-sea tests. THAAD hasn’t missed since tests began in 2006, MDA records show — 11 hits in 14 tests, with three exercises considered “no tests” because of target malfunctions.

Other elements of the missile shield have seen more mixed results. A long-range interceptor fired from the California coast failed to intercept its ballistic target in a July 5 test, the third failure in a row for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, or GMD.

Sep. 10, 2013 - by ANDREW CHUTER  - Defense News

At DSEi, Defense Minister Also Resists EU 'Interference'

LONDON — Britain’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond opened this year’s DSEi defense and security exhibition in London with a £250 million (US $391 million) deal for missile maker MBDA and a broadside for European Union plans to reform the defense sector.

Hammond announced the production deal for the Sea Ceptor missile, which will provide air defense for the Royal Navy’s Type 23 and later Type 26 frigate fleet.

The contract follows a £483 million development deal, signed in December 2011, to get the missile into service in 2016.

The Sea Ceptor, the naval variant of the Common Anti-air Modular Missile, is the first of several contracts or selection announcements due this week at DSEi.

BAE Systems is likely to roll out several suppliers selected for the Royal Navy’s upcoming Type 26 frigate program. Rolls-Royce, with the MT30 gas turbine, is likely to top the list of suppliers announced on Wednesday.

An order for a fourth F-35B joint strike fighter to join three jets already delivered to the British for operational evaluation is possible by the end of the week.

While the missile industry here will have welcomed the defense secretary’s speech, the same can’t be said of the European Union.

Hammond said Britain will resist EU attempts to interfere in the defense market as outlined in a policy paper published by the commission in July.

The British are invariably opposed to further regulations and oversight by Brussels and are expected to hold a referendum in the next few years on whether to stay in the European Union.

Hammond told this DSEi audience of industry executives and military personnel that on this issue, his German counterpart has also been expressing reservations about the ideas scheduled to be considered at a EU defense ministers summit in December.

The British defense secretary said that some of the proposals, such as improving competition in the internal defense market and support for small- and medium-sized enterprises, were welcome

Other proposals were not. “Interference in defense exports and government-to-government defense sales represent a significant extension of the commission’s role and is not necessarily in the best interests of the UK defense industry and will be resisted,” Hammond said. “We will carefully eye potential interference from Brussels,” he said

“We don’t believe, and we are not alone — my German counterpart speaks with vigor in this area as well — that increased competitiveness in the defense industry means actually more competition, not less. We cannot embrace a solution that feels like somebody in Brussels is directing some kind of latter-day command policy,” Hammond said.

“For Europe to stand a chance in the global defense industry of the future we have to have products that are exportable. It’s no longer going to be enough for three or four European countries to get together. Typically that will not create enough demand. We want to to see an approach supportive of the industry which doesn’t try and deliver that support by imposing a solution which is actually anti-competitive. The UK would be very resistant to that,” he said.

The Brussels policy paper recommends a series of reforms aimed at what the EU reckons is required to create a more competitive and efficient defense and security in the face of falling defense budgets across the region.

Howard Wheeldon, of Wheeldon Strategic Advisory, said Hammond’s attack on Brussels was “absolutely justified and the words he used were the [ones] industry would support. However, actions speak louder than words.”

Sept. 10, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: RIA Novosti; published Sept. 7, 2013)

Russia Puts Submarine Trials on Hold After Bulava Failure

MOSCOW --- Russia has put trials of two nuclear subs on hold following an unsuccessful launch of a Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Friday, a Russian defense ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

“The day before, a Bulava SLBM was fired toward the Kura test site in Kamchatka [in Far East] during state trials of the Alexander Nevsky nuclear-powered submarine in the White Sea,” the spokesman told journalists, adding that the rocket experienced a malfunction in one of its systems on the second minute of the flight.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered to halt state trials of the Borey-class Alexander Nevsky and the Vladimir Monomakh submarines, designed to carry Bulava, and to hold five additional launches of the troubled SLBM, the spokesman said.

A state commission led by the Russian Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov will investigate the reason for the unsuccessful launch.

The Alexander Nevsky submarine was expected to be handed over to the Navy on November 15, while the other Borey-class sub, the Vladimir Monomakh, will join the fleet in mid-December, Russia’s Sevmash shipyard chief Mikhail Budnichenko said in early July.

However, the commissioning of both of those submarines depends on the success of the Bulava test launch. The spokesman did not elaborate on how the failure would affect the schedule.

The three-stage Bulava carries up to 10 MIRV warheads, has a range of over 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) and is designed for deployment on Borey-class nuclear submarines.

With Friday’s failure, eight of 19 or 20 test launches of the troubled Bulava have been officially declared unsuccessful. However, some analysts suggest that in reality the number of failures is considerably higher.

Despite several previous failures officially blamed on manufacturing faults, the Russian military has insisted that there is no alternative to the Bulava.

Sep 9, 2013 ASDNews Source : Raytheon Corporation

Raytheon Company's (NYSE: RTN) Stinger demonstrated flawless performance in recent Very Short Range Air Defense System (SHORADS) field trials in Finland. During the trials, six Finnish gunners were trained on three missile system tracking trainers. Using the trainer, each Finnish gunner successfully simulated tracking and engaging targets flown by the Finnish Army Materiel Command, including an F/A-18, NH-90 helicopter and Banshee drone.

Stinger's lethal performance is unmatched by any other SHORAD missile and has been demonstrated and validated by its extensive test and combat record.

"The Stinger is best known for its Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) variant, which gives the missile a surface-to-air capability, and these field trials prove that our competitors have yet to develop a MANPADS system that can truly outperform Stinger," said Mark Nicol, program director of Raytheon Missile Systems' Stinger program.

The Stinger missile has specifically demonstrated its ability to successfully engage rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles during numerous test flights and in combat.

"We have taken a system that has proven itself time and time again in critical combat situations, and have continually evolved the technology," Nicol said. "The result is a system that is proven and designed for today's warfighter in current and future conflicts."

Stinger offers a high explosive hit-to-kill, blast-fragmentation warhead. Stinger has nearly 300 combat kills and a success rate of over 92 percent in more than 1,500 live fire tests by U.S. and allied forces. Unlike other SHORAD missiles, Stinger is designed to engage a target with one shot. Stinger is a highly reliable system that requires no regular scheduled maintenance by the user.

"As our international allies look to deploy highly advanced defense postures with proven systems, Stinger will continue to remain a major player in the ground-based air defense arena," said Michelle Lohmeier, vice president of Raytheon Missile Systems' Land Combat product line.

September 9th, 2013 defencetalk.com (AFP)

Israel deployed its Iron Dome missile defence system near Jerusalem Sunday, an AFP correspondent said, as the United States lobbied for domestic and international support for military strikes against Syria.

The correspondent said the battery was set up west of the city.

A military spokeswoman would not comment on the deployment, saying only that “defence systems are deployed in accordance with situation assessments.”

Late last month a battery of the mobile system was set up in the greater Tel Aviv area, pointing northwards towards Syria. Israeli media have reported that six or seven such batteries are currently in use.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Israel “an island of tranquillity, quiet and security” amidst “the storm raging around us”, without explicitly mentioning Syria or its ally Iran.

In previous weeks Netanyahu has repeatedly said Israel was not involved in the war in Syria, but would “respond with force” if anyone attacked it.

The Israeli line on Syria was reiterated in remarks by Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon later Sunday.

“We are not involved in the civil war in Syria unless our interests are compromised,” he said at a counter-terrorism conference in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv.

“We are preparing for the ramification of action — or inaction — in Syria,” he continued.

“To our understanding, our neighbours, especially the Syrian regime, understands that whoever challenges us will encounter the power of the IDF (Israeli military), and we are preparing for that.”

Yaalon noted that “we held a security assessment today”, and the bottom line was that Israel was not reverting to a heightened level of alert in the wake of the developments in and regarding Syria.

There are fears that if the United States and its allies attack Syria, forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad or its Lebanese Hezbollah proxies could retaliate against neighbouring Israel, Washington’s key ally in the region.

Late last month, Iran’s army chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi warned: “Any military action against Syria will drive the Zionists to the edge of fire.”

US President Barack Obama’s administration is seeking to shore up support both at home and abroad for limited military strikes against Syria in retaliation for what it says is the regime’s use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb.

In Washington, Congress is due to begin full debate this week on whether to approve Obama’s plans when it returns from its summer break on Monday.

MOSCOU, 7 septembre - RIA Novosti

La Russie a suspendu les tests d'homologation de deux sous-marins nucléaires, Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh, suite à l'échec d'un tir d'essai du missile Boulava, a annoncé samedi le ministère russe de la Défense.

"Le sous-marin nucléaire russe Alexandre Nevski, qui passe des tests d'homologation en mer Blanche, a tiré vendredi un missile balistique intercontinental Boulava qui devait détruire une cible sur le polygone de Koura, au Kamtchatka. Le missile a quitté son conteneur sans problème, mais son système de bord est tombé en panne à la 2e minute du vol. Le ministre russe de la Défense Sergueï Choïgou a décidé de suspendre les tests d'homologation des sous-marins Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh pour effectuer cinq tirs supplémentaires du missile Boulava et tester les paramètres techniques et tactiques du missile", a indiqué un porte-parole du ministère devant les journalistes.

"Une commission dirigée par le commandant en chef de la Marine Victor Tchirkov a lancé une enquête sur l'échec du tir de Boulava", a-t-il ajouté.

Selon les informations précédentes, Alexandre Nevski devait être livré à l'armée à la mi-novembre et Vladimir Monomakh en décembre 2013, à l'issue de tests d'homologation.

Capables de tirer des missiles balistiques intercontinentaux Boulava, les sous-marins nucléaires lanceurs d'engins (SNLE) Alexandre Nevski et Vladimir Monomakh (projet 955 Boreï) constitueront la base des Forces navales stratégiques russes après la mise au rebut des sous-marins de classes Akoula (Typhoon selon le code de l'OTAN), Kalmar et Mourena (Delta-3 et Delta-4 selon l'OTAN) en 2018. Le premier sous-marin de la série, Iouri Dolgorouki, a été remis à la Marine russe en janvier dernier.

Le missile R30 3M30 Boulava-30 (code OTAN SS-NX-30, dénomination internationale RSM-56) doit devenir l'arme principale des forces stratégiques navales russes. Le Boulava est un missile à trois étages à propergol solide destiné à équiper les sous-marins. D'une portée de 8.000 km, il peut être équipé de dix ogives nucléaires hypersoniques de 100 à 150 kt et à trajectoire indépendante.