Israeli Arrow Interceptor Successfully Destroys Target
December 3, 2005 :: News
On Friday December 2, Israel conducted another intercept test of its Arrow ballistic missile defense system. A Black Sparrow target missile said to simulate an Iranian Shahab-3 missile was launched from an aircraft overflying the Mediterranean. Radar located the target and transmitted its trajectory data to the command and control center, which calculated plans for defending against it. These were transmitted to the launcher, which launched the test interceptor from a military base said to be south of Tel Aviv. The interceptor, by some accounts the newer, “Arrow-2” interceptor produced and recently delivered by Boeing, successfully destroyed the target. A brochure provided by Rafael, producer of the Black Sparrow target, claims that it is capable of reproducing various reentry patterns: simple ballistic, barrel roll, and other sorts of maneuvers (inset picture).
The exercise marked the fourteenth test of the Arrow interceptor, and the ninth trial run for the current weapons system. Defense officials said the object of the test was to examine the system’s enhanced capabilities, including an expanded interception range, and to test the interface between the Arrow system and the Patriot missile system, which is supposed to become activated in the event that the Arrow does not destroy the target.
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz called the test “a tremendous achievement” that “once again underscores the principle that the State of Israel relies first and foremost on itself when it comes to safeguarding the citizens of Israel.” Aryeh Herzog, head of the Arrow project in the Defense Ministry, told Israel Channel Two TV, “The launch was successful. The significance is that the Arrow arms project proved another part of its range of operations against the Iranian threat.”
Jane’s Defense Weekly reports that the test pushed the altitude boundaries of the Arrow beyond those of previous tests:
The interception was conducted at a record low altitude, considered below the AWS’s performance envelope, and determined the operability of the Arrow II Block 3 interceptor, manufactured jointly by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) and Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.
“We have never before tried the Arrow against the Shahab characteristics, but we know now that we are capable of intercepting all existing ballistic missile threats in the region, whether conventional or non-conventional, and we are developing capabilities to deal with future threats,” Director of the Israel Missile Defence Organisation Arieh Herzog told JDW.
…Following the interception, IAF’s MIM-104 Patriot low- to high-altitude air-defence batteries joined the test, simulating an additional interception at lower altitude. Israel’s ballistic missile defence concept is based on a two-tier layered defence in which the AWS constitutes the higher layer and the Patriot an additional, lower layer.
On August 26, 2004, the Arrow-2 failed to intercept a Shahab-3-type target (Black Sparrow) in a test. A few days earlier on July 29, 2004, the Arrow had successfully intercepted a Scud-type target. Both tests were conducted in California.
A senior Israeli defense source was quoted as saying that Arrow system was preparing to provide a response to several missiles launched simultaneously at Israel, naming Iran and Syria as the primary threats being considered.
Yair Ramati of the IAI’s MALAM defense plant was interviewed about the test on Voice of Israel radio in Jerusalem. Ramati said of the upgrades to the Arrow-2 upgrades,
The improvements do not lie in the hardware, but rather in new software installed in the radar, in the command and control systems and in the missile itself. It is a kind of a combination that has to be tested. Incidentally, this was the third time the software was tested.
(Article, Link)
» Interview on Voice of Israel radio
» Voice of Israel report of test
» Rafael brochure for Black Sparrow target missile
» Jane’s Defense Weekly on Arrow test
» More stories on: Israel, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: Arrow
Russia Tests Topol SS-25; Service Life Extensions to Yield Savings
November 30, 2005 :: News
On November 29, Russia tested fired one of its aging “Topol” ballistic missiles, which have been in service since the 1980s. The RS-12M missile, SS-25 in the NATO designation, was successfully launched from a mobile launcher located at the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region. The missile traveled east, with the warhead or warheads being delivered to the designated target at the testing ground of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The launch was part of an ongoing plan to extend the service lives of the SS-25, which shores up the strength of Russia’s offensive nuclear forces. Russia’s project to extend the service lives of Cold War workhorses such as the SS-18 and also the SS-25 helps to save or at least delay the costs associated with replacing them with newer ICBMS, such as, for example, the Topol-M (SS-27) which would otherwise be necessary to retain Russia’s sizable nuclear arsenal.
The SS-25 Topol missiles have already exceeded the period through which they were expected to be operable. A statement by Colonel Aleksey Kuznetsov, head of the Space Troops’ press service, is quoted by the Russian Interfax news agency: “The purpose of the launch is to confirm the flight, technical and operation characteristics of the mobile ground-based Topol missile complex so that its service life can be extended to 20 years.” (Meanwhile, the Associated Press quoted the statement as saying the missiles could be extended to a life of 23 years, and RIA Novosti that it was 19.) To clarify, the service lives of specific missiles means that while some Topols were first introduced around the late-1980s, others which were built and deployed later could still be in service for some time, while still having the same overall “service life.” RIA Novosti explained that some Topol missiles could still be operational until 2016-2018.
Russian Channel One TV notes that when the Topol missiles were introduced, they were expected to have a life for only ten years, which they have already almost doubled. It is however, worthy of notice that the Channel One report discussed the relation of the Topol and the newer Topol-M to missile defense, and specifically American missile defense capabilities. The Russian press, like the Russian military, is remarkably blunt in their desire to retain the means to deliver nuclear weapons to America, even so far as specifying that America is among its “likely enemies.”
…the launch from Plesetsk today of the oldest missile, and from the first batch, proved that they can maintain complete combat readiness for at least twice as long as this. A rocket usually becomes old when the opponent learns how to intercept it, but our likely enemies have not known what to do about the Topol, nor know so far.
The army is unlikely to keep the Topol missiles in service for longer than 23 years. A new weapon is on its way. …
[Gennadiy Yasinskiy, captioned as first deputy constructor at the Moscow institute of thermal technology] This missile is coming to the end of its service life. I don’t think the Americans will come up with anything special with their air defense [missile defense] system over these three years, whereas our modernized Topol-M missile [the SS-27] has all the elements required to overcome the US system being developed today.
[Correspondent] It was precisely in an attempt to catch up with the Topol that the Americans built the terribly expensive B-2 stealth bomber, each costing two billion dollars. But the outlay turned out to be justified: once in the air, this missile—the foundation of our nuclear shield—is completely unassailable for any air defense [missile defense] system.
Given the fungibility of money, Russia can allocate resources in its growing military budget to other programs. As RIA Novosti noted, “This measure will allow Russia to keep the infrastructure of missile deployment areas for new mobile ground-based missile systems as it continues to commission modernized Topol-M versions according to schedule.” (Article, Link)
» Russian Channel One TV description of Topol test
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-N-5
» Missile system details for: Plesetsk Cosmodrome
Russia Tests New Maneuvering Warhead on Topol-M; Trajectory Chosen to Avoid Alaskan Radar
November 2, 2005 :: Kommersant :: News
On November 1 Russia conducted a major test of its new maneuverable warhead system and of its Topol-M (RS-12M1) ballistic missile system. The missile was launched from the Kapustin Yar facility in Russia, and traveled a relatively short distance to the Balkhash testing range in Kazakhstan.
An excerpt from Kommersant notes that the launch trajectory was somewhat unique:
A RS-12M1 Topol-M intercontinental missile with the new warhead was tested in Kazakhstan yesterday. The launch from a mobile launcher was the sixth test of the system intended to overcome American antiballistic defenses. This was the first launch to take place not at the Kura testing ground at Plesetsk [sic] in Kamchatka, but at the Kapustin Yar ground, part of the Balkhash complex in Priozersk, Kazakhstan. The change was made began the radar system at Kura is in such poor condition that it would not be able to [monitor] maneuvers the warheads carry out after separating from the intercontinental missiles, while American facilities in Alaska would be able to. In Kazakhstan, the Russians were able to control everything themselves.
Strange Reporting
The reports on this test by major media outlets have, however, been remarkably contradictory. Some sources reported that the test was of the SS-25 Topol rather than the SS-27 Topol-M. Most said the missile was launched from Kapustin Yar; but Interfax quoted Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Colonel Alexander Vovk as saying that the missile was launched from the Plesetsk facility in northern Russia. Others still had initially reported it was launched from Kamchatka. (The Kommersant report quoted above oddly says that Plesetsk is on the far eastern Kamchatka peninsula, rather than in northern Russia.) (More »»»)
» Xinhua on test
» RIA Novosti on Topol-M test
» Pravda on missile test
» Interfax on Topol-M test, warhead capabilities
» More stories on: Maneuverable Warheads, Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-N-6
» Missile system details for: Kapustin Yar Missile Test Complex
Russia Tests SS-19 ICBM from Baikonur
October 20, 2005 :: Itar-Tass :: News
On October 20, Russia launched another ICBM in its recent string of missile tests, this time an SS-19 (RS-18) “Stiletto” missile. The silo-based SS-19 was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, and its warhead traveled eastward to hit its designated target at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka peninsula some 25 minutes and 6,000km later, according to a statement by Russian Space Forces Col. Alexei Kuznetsov, who added, notes Itar Tass, that “the launch tested the missile’s tactical and technical characteristics, as well as its performance after being on standby for 25 years.” He also added that the missile “was launched from a silo at site No 175 of the southern spaceport.” This was the first test of an SS-19 in 2005, and it would have been the SS-19 Mod 2; the SS-19 mod 1 was replaced in 1983.
Itar Tass continues:
According to mass media reports, the Strategic Missile Troops are now equipped with 160 Stilet [sic] missiles, each carrying six warheads. The RS-18 missile is one of Russia’s most sophisticated intercontinental missiles. The launches performed in the past few years proved its reliability and made it possible to extend its service life by 20 years.
The RS-18 missiles that have been withdrawn from the combat component of the Strategic Missile Troops are currently being converted into Rokot launch vehicles at the Khrunichev state scientific and production space centre. There have been seven launches of Rokot launch vehicles since 2000, of which six were successful. The launch of this type of rocket with the European Cryosat research satellite on board on 8 October proved to be a failure.
(Article, Link)
» Longer Itar-Tass report on test, available through BBC Monitoring
» Interfax on test
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-21 B
» Missile system details for: Baikonur Cosmodrome
Kyodo: China Testing SRBMs at Pace of 100 Per Year
October 19, 2005 :: Kyodo :: News
Japan’s Kyodo news service reports that beginning two years ago China has been testing short range ballistic missiles at a rate of about one hundred per year. The tests of missiles with ranges up to 600 km are said to take place from inland bases. The report comes in conjunction with the visit by Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to the headquarters of the Second Artillery, which commands China’s ballistic missiles.
This news report is significant, but it leaves unclear the relation of such a number of tests to the number of missiles produced each year, and the number operationally deployed near Taiwan. The 2005 report by the Pentagon on the military capabilities of the People’s Republic of China noted that China is deploying an additional “75 to 125” short range missiles within range of Taiwan each year, and that the current number was estimated at between 650 and 730. Depending on how one interprets the relation between these reports, China could be producing some 175-225 short range missiles per year (around 100 to satisfy the testing replacement rate plus 75-125 to increase the number deployed). (Article, Link)
» Kyodo report through BBC Monitoring
» October 19, 2005: Washington Times on Rumsfeld visit
» 2005 Pentagon Report on Chinese Military Power
» More stories on: China, Taiwan, Testing - Foreign
Russia Tests Target Missile Based on S-25
October 17, 2005 :: News
Interfax reports that Russia has completed a three month period of testing for a “new” target missile called “Strizh-4,” which is said to be built on the basis of the older S-25 (SA-1 “Guild”) anti-aircraft/missile defense interceptor. The purpose for which the Strizh-4 would serve as a target was not given. Presumably, it could serve as a testing target for Russia S-300 or S-400 air and missile defense interceptors. There are apparently two versions of the missile, for both low and high altitudes.
“The tests were conducted for three months at one of the ranges. The tests fully confirmed the missile’s declared specifications, and this was noted in the act drawn up after the tests,” a source in the defence industry complex told Interfax-AVN on Monday [17 October].
Now that the state tests have been completed successfully, a series production of the target missile can be launched and it can be used to test new anti-aircraft missile systems and air-defense artillery systems, the source said.
According to the source, “four launches were made during the state tests - two launches of the target missile designed to fly at high altitudes and two launches of the low-altitude version of the target missile”.
The Strizh-4 target missile is fitted with onboard equipment which includes a radar system designed to establish the parameters of engagement with an anti-aircraft guided missile, photosensitive elements to determine ammunition activation time, and fragmentation sensors. All data is transmitted to the ground and then deciphered.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Russian Missile Defenses, Testing - Foreign
» Missile system details for: S-25 (SA-1 Guild)
Russia Tests RSM-50 (SS-N-18) SLBM; Second Test in Four Days
September 30, 2005 :: Itar-Tass :: News
Russia today conducted a test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the St. George the Victorious nuclear submarine. The missile was launched from the Sea of Okhotsk and the warheads traveled to their targets at the Chizh range near the White Sea.
The Sea of Ohtotsk is in the Pacific Ocean, near the far eastern Kamchatka Peninsula. The targets are said to have traveled to cape Kanin Nos, on the island of Kanin. The White Sea is in the far north, almost directly due north of Moscow.
“The RSM-50 submarine-based missile was launched from submerged position from a depth of about 30 meters,” a Defense Ministry source is quoted by Itar Tass as saying, adding that “This is the first launch of an inter-continental ballistic missile by Russia’s Pacific Fleet this year. The previous missile launch from the same submarine was carried out on November 2, 2004.”
The St. George is identified by the Moscow News as a Delta-III-class submarine equipped to carry 16 R-29R nuclear-tipped missiles. The missile fired today, however, was identified as an RS-50, both of which designations refer to versions of the SS-N-18 SLBM.
The test follows upon the September 27 test of Russia’s new submarine-launched SS-NX-30, or Bulava, missile. (Article, Link)
» Sep. 30, 2005: Moscow News on SLBM launch
» Itar Tass on missile test
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-N-20, SS-N-23, SS-NX-30
Russia Tests Bulava SS-NX-30 SLBM For First Time
September 27, 2005 :: RIA-Novosti :: News
Russia today conducted the much anticipated first flight test of its new Bulava SS-NX-30 intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile was successfully launched from the Dmitry Donskoy Typhoon-class submarine of the Northern Fleet from the White Sea, and it traveled to its designated target at the Kura testing range on the Kamchatka peninsula.
The Bulava had undergone surface and underwater “pop-up” tests in September 2004 to test the submarine release mechanism, but it did not involve the firing of any missile engines.
The test comes a day after President Putin affirmed that Russia continues to develop hypersonic maneuverable warheads for its new missile systems which are capable of evading the sort of midcourse missile defenses being deployed by the United States. The Bulava is the sea-based variant of the Topol-M missile, said to carry such warheads.
Russian Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo told Itar Tass that the Borey-class nuclear submarines will be equipped with the Bulava missiles; two such submarines are being constructed at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk in the Arkhangelsk region. The first submarine, the Yury Dolgoruky, will be commissioned in 2006 and the second, the Alexander Nevsky, in 2007. (Article, Link)
» September 26: Putin reaffirms development of maneuverable hypersonic vehicles
» September 23, 2004: Russia conducts “pop-up” test of Bulava
» Sep. 27: Itar Tass on Bulava launch
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-26
Possible Tochka-U Missile Test
September 15, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
The Interfax-Military News Agency reported on September 14 that a test of the SS-21 Tochka-U ballistic missile was expected as the conclusion of a Russian military exercise at the Luzhskiy artillery firing range in the Leningrad Region. Interfax quoted Major-General Mikhail Akulov, commander of the Leningrad Military District’s missile and artillery forces, as saying that the launch was soon expected.
“The brigade headed by Col Aleksandr Fateyev is taking up marches in columns, changes of firing positions and some other training missions in the course of the exercise, which is going to end with the launch of a Tochka-U tactical missile. Representatives of a state-owned firing range present will assess the readiness of the brigade,” he said.
He pointed out that the brigade had already launched the same type of missile during the tactical exercise at the state-owned firing range in the Volga region. …
The SV 9K79-1 Tochka-U missile system is designed to effectively kill critical targets in enemy’s tactical depth. The solid-propellant single-stage missile with cluster or high-explosive/fragmentation warhead weighs 2,010 kg, and has a range of 120 km.
Update: September 20, 2005:If the tests of the Tochka-U missiles took place, they seem to have not been reported in any publicly available media. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-24, SS-25
Russia Tests SS-N-23
August 17, 2005 :: Interfax :: News
Russia successfully test launched an SS-N-23 (Skiff, RSM-54) intercontinental ballistic missile from the northern Barents Sea. The Yekaterinburg submarine launched the missile from a submerged position, and the missile then traveled some 8,000 km toward its target at the Kura test range on the eastern Kamchatka peninsula. Vladimir Putin observed the firing of the missile and the Northern Fleet’s other military exercises from another ship, Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great).
The Novomoskovsk nuclear submarine failed to fire an SS-N-23 missile after two attempts in 2004, notes Xinhua. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-X-14
