Russia Test Launches SS-25 Topol ICBM
August 3, 2006 :: MosNews :: News
Russia today test launched a road-mobile SS-25 Topol (RS-12M) intercontinental ballistic missile from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northwestern Russia, according to Russian media sources. Major General Vitaly Seliverstov, deputy head of the Strategic Rocket Forces’ armament department, told Interfax that “the missile was test-fired to confirm the stability of its flight and technical characteristics during the extended period of operation.” Itar-Tass reports that the missile was fired from a mobile launcher. It is believed that the launch and flight of the Topol met all necessary standards, and that the missile hit its designated target on the Kamchtaka Peninsula at the scheduled time.
The SS-25 Topol was the first fully road mobile intercontinental ballistic missile commissioned by the Soviet Union. The Topol has a high rate of survivability, as it is difficult to locate and destroy a properly hidden road mobile system. MosNews reports that 300 missiles remained on duty as of 2005. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-N-5
» Missile system details for: Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Reports: North Korean Taep’o-dong Exploded 1.5 km from Launch Site
July 30, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
U.S. military sources report today that the Taep’o-dong 2 long-range ballistic missile test fired by North Korea on July 5 exploded in midair within some 1.5 kilometers of its launch site. The new information contradicts earlier claims by the Japanese government, which had estimated that the Taep’o-dong 2 had reached the Sea of Japan 400-600 km away from the Musudanri missile base in North Hamgyong Province. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
Russian Dnepr Launcher Crashes in Kazakhstan
July 27, 2006 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
A Russian Dnepr carrier rocket carrying 18 mini-satellites crashed today in a remote area of Kazakhstan shortly after its lift-off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, reports RIA-Novosti. The Dnepr carrier rocket, a civilian version of the heavy SS-18 Satan (RS-20 Voyevoda) intercontinental ballistic missiles, experienced a second stage breakdown 86 seconds into its flight. Russia has been using converted ballistic missiles to launch satellites into orbit since 1999. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-20
» Missile system details for: Baikonur Cosmodrome
India Test Launches Two Trishul SAMs
July 24, 2006 :: News
India today test fired two short-range Trishul surface-to-air (SAM) missiles from the test range at Chandipur-on-Sea, 15 km from Balasore, reports the Times of India. Hailed as the country’s “most sophisticated” SAM, the Trishul is about 3 meters in length, 200 cm in diameter, flies at supersonic speeds, and is capable of carrying a 15-kg payload. It is powered by a two-stage solid propellant engine, and has a range in excess of 9 km. The Trishul was initially designed to intercept sea-skimming anti-ship missiles, but can also engage aircraft and helicopters. (Article, Link)
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Taiwan Test Launches PAC-2 Interceptors, Destroys Target Missile
July 20, 2006 :: AFP :: News
Taiwan launched two Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) interceptors as part of its largest-ever, live-fire military exercise. The AFP reports that the U.S.-made Patriots were fired from mobile launchers on a beach off the northeastern city of Ilan, and successfully shot down an incoming target missile launched some 30 km (18 miles) away. The military exercises, codenamed Han-Kuang 22, simulated a Chinese invasion and also included fighter jets and ground troops. “This is the first time Patriot missiles were launched before the eyes of the public … to show our determination to safeguard Taiwan,” said President Chen Shui-bian afterwards. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3)
Russia Launches SS-18 ICBM Carrying U.S. Civilian Satellite
July 12, 2006 :: AP :: News
Russia today launched a modified SS-18 Satan (RS-20 Voyevoda) ICBM, also known as the Dnepr carrier rocket, carrying an experimental U.S. civilian satellite known as Genesis I, reports the Strategic Missile Forces. The converted missile was launched from a silo in Russia’s southern Ural Mountains, and reached an altitude of over 500 km within minutes. The Genesis I is an experimental inflatable spacecraft funded by Robert Bigelow, a real estate magnate who is among several entrepreneurs attempting to develop a commercial space station. The Genesis I, at 4.2 m long, 1.2 m wide, and weighing 1,270 kg, is a one-third scale prototype of the commercial space station to which the company eventually hopes to transport its clients. Bigelow Aerospace plans to study its durability over the next five years. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-20
India Test Fires Agni-3, Missile Fails During Flight
July 9, 2006 :: BBC :: News
India test-launched its longest-range nuclear-capable missile, the Agni-3, for the first time today. The missile was successfully launched from Wheeler Island, off the coast of Orissa State, but crashed into the Bay of Bengal after traveling 1,000 km without reaching its 3,000 km target, according to reports by the BBC and the Times of India.
The total flight time was said to be approximately five minutes out of an intended fifteen. Although the exact cause of the missile’s failure is not yet clear, an official from India’s Defense Ministry was quoted as saying that the second stage did not separate properly.
The Agni-3 is now quoted as having a range of between 3,500 and 5,000 km. Reports say it could hit targets as far off as Beijing and Shanghai. The missile was also said to have two solid-fuel stages, rather than three as was previously believed. It is likely equipped with an inertial guidance systems with an improved optical or radar terminal phase correlation system. This would probably give it a high degree of accuracy with a medium to large nuclear payload, most likely a 200 or 300 kT warhead. The Agni-3’s predecessors, the Agni-1 and Agni-2, are now quoted as having ranges of 700-800 km and 2,000 km respectively. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Agni-2, Agni-3
Bush: U.S. Had “Reasonable Chance” of Intercepting North Korean Missile
July 7, 2006 :: AP :: News
President Bush said today that the U.S. military had “a reasonable chance” of shooting down North Korea’s Taep’o-dong 2 long-range ballistic missile on Wednesday, had the missile not failed during its test launch. Speaking before reporters in Chicago, the President added that “our anti-ballistic systems are modest, they are new.” If the North Korean missile had continued to what is now believed to have been its intended target, an area off the coast of Hawaii, the Pentagon might have targeted the Taep’o-dong with any number of 11 ground-based interceptor missiles currently deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. (Article, Link)
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» Missile system details for: Fort Greely, Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI)
Report: North Korean Missile Was Aimed Off Hawaii
July 7, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
The long-range Taep’o-dong 2 ballistic missile test-launched by North Korea this week was aimed at an area of the ocean close to Hawaii, reports the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun The information comes from data collected by U.S. and Japanese Aegis-equipped destroyers on the Taep’o-dong’s angle of take-off and altitude. The Sankei Shimbun speculated that North Korea may have targeted Hawaii to demonstrate to the U.S. that it was capable of landing a missile there, or because the island is home to the headquarters of the U.S. Pacific fleet. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
North Korea Test Launches Seventh Missile; Possibly Twelve Total
July 5, 2006 :: AP :: News
North Korea test-launched a seventh ballistic missile today, provoking international condemnation and possible sanctions. An official at the South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that the seventh missile was either short- or medium-range. Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported that the missile landed six minutes after launch, but did not give a location. North Korea’s actions provoked immediate international condemnation, including the convening of an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council and calls in Japan for economic sanctions against the communist regime.
The Chosun Ilbo reports that, overall, there were two salvos of missiles, and as many as twelve total, with the second salvo perhaps also including a number of surface-to-ship missiles. (Article, Link)
» Chosun Ilbo: North Korea fires as many as 12 missiles
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