Tag: missile defense

Moving an entire Patriot battalion out of INDOPACOM you would think would be a huge signal to Iran they are about to get smashed if they don’t reign in the Houthis:

U.S. Patriot missile defense systems were recently moved from Asia to the Middle East amid ongoing fighting with Houthi rebels in Yemen and threats from their backers in Iran, the leader of Indo-Pacific Command told lawmakers this week.

Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Adm. Samuel Paparo said the Army had transferred a Patriot battalion from INDOPACOM to the Central Command area of operations as the military builds up its defenses in the region. Tensions have been escalating since the U.S. launched a fresh barrage of airstrikes against the Houthis last month, with President Donald Trump vowing to keep up the pressure until the militants halt attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Trump also has threatened to go after their backers in Iran if the maritime attacks don’t stop.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Remember the talk of “strategic flexibility” for USFK? Well this is what that looks like:

South Korea and the United States have recently agreed on a plan to temporarily deploy Patriot missile defense batteries from the South to the Middle East, sources said Friday, amid speculation over a potential shift in the role of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).

The allies agreed last month on the “monthslong” partial deployment of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, the first known case involving the relocation of USFK assets to the Middle East, according to the sources.

The missiles work alongside South Korea’s own air defense assets in a multilayered missile defense system against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats, according to the sources.

The rare move comes after U.S. broadcaster NBC News reported last week that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized at least two Patriot missile defense batteries from Asia to be moved to the Middle East as the U.S. takes military action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but does this become the new normal for USFK where units are regularly deployed off the peninsula to respond to needs elsewhere in the world?

In response to North Korea’s recent provocations the ROK military is showcasing its homegrown missile defense system for the first time to the public:

It marked the first time the Air Force has unveiled the battalion’s drill involving the Cheongung-II to the press, although its specific name and location remains undisclosed to the public.

Integral to South Korea’s multilayered missile defense system, the Cheongung-II operates at a mid-tier altitude, complementing the U.S. missile shield. Lockheed Martin’s Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles defend against low-tier threats at altitudes of 20 km, and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) intercepts upper-tier threats at altitudes of 40-150 km. 

The unit is located within an hour’s drive from Seongju County, which is located about 160 km southeast of Seoul and is home to the THAAD system deployed in 2017. 

While the Cheongung-II is designed to counter ballistic missile threats and hostile aircraft, its capability of targeting cruise missiles has drawn new attention amid Pyongyang’s recent spate of cruise missile tests. 

“The Cheongung-II represents an advanced homegrown technology in countering both aircraft and ballistic missiles. Our training ensures that our forces are prepared to respond immediately, strongly and until the end,” Park said. 

The upgraded M-SAM Block-II comprises four mobile launchers, each loaded with eight missiles, enabling simultaneous engagement of up to 32 interceptors.

A multifunction radar is positioned atop a hill for uninterrupted 360-degree airspace surveillance, remotely sending signals to an engagement control center.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

The fact that the U.S. and Japan plan to build this within 10 years may be to late to need:

Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the prime minister’s official residence on Oct. 4, 2021 in Tokyo. U.S. President Joe Biden will host Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a summit on Aug. 18. (Toru Hanai /Pool/Getty Images/TNS)

The U.S. and Japan are expected to announce an agreement to jointly develop missile interceptors for hypersonic weapons when the leaders of the two nations meet later this week, the Yomiuri reported, citing several people in government.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for a summit on Aug. 18. Biden will also meet with Kishida separately and one of the issues on which they are expected to reach agreement is the collaboration on missile interceptors, the Yomiuri said.

The U.S. and Japan will aim to develop the new missile defense system within 10 years, according to the report.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It looks like this is the response to North Korea’s ICBM launch, holding a trilateral missile defense exercise:

South Korea, the United States and Japan held a joint naval drill, the South Korean Navy said Sunday, in a show of strengthened trilateral military cooperation against North Korea’s escalating nuclear threats.

The three allies staged a missile defense exercise in international waters between South Korea and Japan, Sunday, mobilizing three Aegis-equipped destroyers ― ROKS Yulgok Yi I, USS John Finn and JS Maya ― to enhance readiness against North Korea’s missile provocations.

The previous joint drill was held on April 17 and the latest one was the fourth combined exercise to take place during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The three nations have done this trilateral missile defense exercises in the past, but they were scrapped during the prior Moon administration:

South Korea, the United States and Japan held a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters of the East Sea on Wednesday, Seoul’s military said, amid heightened tensions caused by North Korea’s recent missile launches.

The exercise took place in waters east of South Korea’s Ulleung Island, mobilizing three Aegis-equipped destroyers — the South’s Sejong the Great, the U.S.’ USS Barry and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s JS Atago — according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

The exercise, which lasted for some five hours from 9 a.m., focused on practicing procedures to detect, track and intercept computer-simulated targets, and share related information, it said.

Of the three destroyers, only the U.S. vessel was involved in the interception segment, while the rest joined other parts of the drills, such as the detection of virtual targets, a Seoul official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It takes many years of development and testing to field a missile defense system this is why THAAD as well as the Patriot batteries in South Korea remain so important to the defense of Korea:

South Korea’s Army said Thursday it is pushing to acquire an advanced interception system to defend against evolving missile and artillery threats from North Korea.

It unveiled the plan for the acquisition of the low altitude missile defense-II (LAMD-II) system that is intended to shoot down North Korea’s new ballistic missiles, such as the KN-23 and the KN-24, and its super-large artillery rockets in a report for an annual parliamentary audit.

LAMD-II will be an improved version of the LAMD system that Seoul seeks to develop by 2029.

The Army added that it is also planning for the early development of the Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile-II (KTSSM-II) as part of efforts to bolster the military’s Kill Chain preemptive strike platform against the nuclear-armed North. It aims to develop the KTSSM-II by 2030, earlier than its initial target year of 2034.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Here is some strategic messaging to the Kim regime that the US does have the ability to shoot down North Korean ICBMs with its GMD system:

Salvos by multiple ground interceptors shot down an intercontinental ballistic missile during a test Monday, a “milestone” first-time achievement, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said.
Two ground-based interceptors were used in the test, MDA said in a statement Monday. The first was used to destroy the ICBM reentry vehicle.
The second interceptor “then looked at the resulting debris and remaining objects, and, not finding any other reentry vehicles, selected the next ‘most lethal object’ it could identify, and struck that, precisely as it was designed to do,” the statement said.

The target ICBM was launched from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, more than 4,000 miles from the two interceptors launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.
Space-, ground- and sea-based sensors provided real-time target acquisition and tracking data to a command-and-control center during the test, the statement said. The interceptors were then launched beyond the Earth’s atmosphere, where they destroyed the target.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Fortunately no one was killed from this accidental firing of a Cheolmae-2 missile which is South Korea’s equivalent of a Patriot missile:

The inadvertent launch of an anti-aircraft missile at a military base in Chuncheon, Gangwon, on Monday was the result of maintenance accident, the South Korean Air Force said on Thursday.

After it was launched from a vehicle during a routine maintenance check, the Cheongung medium-range surface-to-air (SAM) missile exploded mid-air at around 10:38 p.m. on Monday. There were no casualties, nor was there property damage, but the accident spurred an investigation by the Air Force.

Following an on-site inspection and testimonies from witnesses, investigators concluded that the launch was unintentionally triggered by human error during a routine maintenance check. 

“During regular check-ups, mechanics are supposed to disconnect a cable plugged into the missile used in real operations and plug in a testing cable, but the communication between the mechanics was unclear and the check-up was performed without disconnecting the operational cable,” said an Air Force spokesman. “This caused the test launch signal transmitted by the mechanics’ laptop to trigger a launch, and the missile exploded mid-air around 3.5 seconds after launch due to its automatic self-destruction system.”

The missile is equipped with a mechanism that causes it to explode in the event of guidance system failures after launch, according to the Air Force’s briefing on the accident on Monday. 

Also known as the Cheolmae-2, the Cheongung SAM system was developed by the domestic arms producer Agency for Defense Development (ADD) based on the Russian 50R6 Vityaz and S-400 Triumf systems. Each missile costs around 1.5 billion won ($1.3 million) to produce, and a total budget of 1.2 trillion won has been allocated toward the project as a whole. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.