A month after its northern neighbour tested a series of missiles, South Korea test-fired a long-range surface-to-air weapon Feb. 22. The missile is to be part of a “layered defence network” that already includes other domestic medium-range weapons and U.S. Patriot missiles. [node:read-more:link]
Canada’s planned shipment of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine is a package previous destined for Kurdish forces but put in storage in 2016 after Iraq protested. It includes enough sniper and assault rifles, mortars and grenade launchers, pistols, ammunition, imaging technology and medical supplies to equip a force of 500-600 but not anti-tank weapons specifically requested by Ukraine. [node:read-more:link]
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced today that Canada is providing Ukraine with $7.8 million worth of weapons and ammunition as it faces the prospect of a Russian invasion. He also said the government is increasing its financial support with a new $500 million loan atop $120 million offered in January. [node:read-more:link]
Lockheed Martin has officially ended its attempted $4.4-billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission had sued to block the takeover, saying it would enabled LM to cut off other contractors off from Aerojet’s missile components even though LM insisted it would not. [node:read-more:link]
Armoured vehicles upgraded with lasers to detonate unexploded ordnance on airfields are to enter service with the U.S. Air Force last year after a $40 million development program. The Recovery of Airbase Denied By Ordnance vehicles will use a three-kilowatt Zeus III laser capable of detonating “heavily cased” UXO at up to 300 metres. [node:read-more:link]
Turkey has confirmed that its first indigenous anti-ship cruise missile will replace more than 350 U.S.-made Harpoon missiles on combat ships in what an official said will be “a smooth substitution over the next years.” The Atmaca missile evidently incorporates features of the Harpoon and French Exocet. [node:read-more:link]
Even as negotiations continue in Vienna in a bid to revive its “peaceful uses” nuclear agreement which the U.S. abandoned in 2015, Iran unveiled a new missile Feb. 9, claiming a range of nearly 1,500 kilometres. That would put U.S. bases in the region as well as Israel within range and while insisting its program is for deterrence only, Iran also claimed the weapon can defeat missile shield systems. [node:read-more:link]
Poland has joined a growing list of countries ready to supply weapons to Ukraine as tensions continue over troop buildups in border regions. Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak identified short-range man-portable air defense systems and munitions after Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had confirmed Poland’s willingness to supply a broader range of weaponry. [node:read-more:link]
In what’s being described as North Korea’s most significant missile test since 2017, an intermediate-range ballistic mission was confirmed today to have landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The purpose of the test evidently was to verify its accuracy. [node:read-more:link]
North Korea said today that two ballistic missile tests this week were a successful part of its nuclear “war deterrent.” They were the sixth round of launches so far this year. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. administration has approved a proposed arms sale to Egypt despite continued calls for a boycott until Egypt improves its human rights record. The roughly $2.5-million package, which has yet to be finalized, would include 12 Lockheed Martin C-130 Super Hercules transports and air defence radar systems. Congress was advised by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency Jan. 25 of the White House’s decision. [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Defense Department disclosed today that a $200-million U.S. military aid package for Ukraine approved by President Joe Biden in December includes “additional Javelin and other anti-armor systems, grenade launchers, munitions, and non-lethal equipment essential to Ukraine’s frontline defenders.” Parts of the package, which also includes small arms, ammunition an medical support, have already been delivered [node:read-more:link]
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced today that it is suing to block Lockheed Martin’s proposed $4.4-billion acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne, a major supplier of solid-rocket motors. The FTC’s competition bureau said the deal would enable the country’s largest defence contractor to eliminate “our nation’s last independent supplier of key missile inputs” and potentially drive up weapons systems costs. [node:read-more:link]
The North Korean politburo is reported by state media to be considering “restarting all temporally suspended activities,” ostensibly referring to a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing. The media reports that the “hostile policy and military threat by the U.S. have reached a danger line that cannot be overlooked any more.” [node:read-more:link]
A contract worth some $3.5 billion will see the United Arab Emirates purchasing mid-range Cheongung II KM-SA surface-to-air missiles from South Korea. Signed this week in Dubai, it is South Korea’s largest export deal to date and was accompanied by a memorandum to collaborate on other weapons systems. [node:read-more:link]
