Weapons

The International Atomic Energy Agency says it cannot support Iran’s claim that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, saying there has been “no progress” in resolving questions about the history of material at undeclared sites. IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi says he is “increasingly concerned that Iran has not engaged with the Agency on the outstanding safeguards issues . . . and, therefore, that there has been no progress towards resolving them.” [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Department of Defense said today that intelligence assessments indicate that its Russian counterpart is planning to buy millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea. “It does demonstrate and is indicative of the situation that Russia finds itself in, in terms of its logistics and sustainment capabilities as it relates to Ukraine,” a DoD official said. [node:read-more:link]

A compact quad-barrel missile launcher and sensor ball designed by L3 Harris is expected to give the Ukraine military some sharper teeth when dealing with drones. The U.S. is shipping the “Vampire” systems, which can be mounted to a small truck in two hours and operated by one person, as part of its latest Ukraine support package. [node:read-more:link]

General Dynamics Land Systems has been tapped build 250 of the latest Abrams main battle tanks for Poland. Initially requested by Poland a year ago, the first M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams are expected to reach the country’s military in early 2025. [node:read-more:link]

Northrop Grumman has disclosed that a USAF B-2 Spirit stealth bomber bomber successfully released a long-range cruise missile during a test in December 2021. The missile, which has a range of more than 500 miles, had already been integrated into other USAF bombers as well as fighters. [node:read-more:link]

Annoyed by the inclusion of an expression of “grave concern” about Europe’s largest nuclear power station, in Ukraine, Russia has blocked adoption of a declaration by a delayed United Nations conference about renewal of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The accord is reviewed by its 191 signatories every five years, and participants in the previous review, in 2015, also failed to reach an agreement. [node:read-more:link]

Fifteen Leopard 2 tanks, along with ammunition, spares and training, are being sent by Germany to Slovakia to replace 30 Soviet-era tracked BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles sent to Ukraine. The defence ministry said August 23 that the deal is one of several “ring swaps” with eastern European countries since Russia invaded Ukraine six months ago. [node:read-more:link]

Three officers in India’s air force have been dismissed for having accidentally fired a nuclear-capable missile into Pakistan last March. The BrahMos land-attack cruise missile was jointly developed by Russia and India. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. Air Force tested an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile Aug. 16, nearly two weeks after it was delayed to avoid inflaming tensions with China. Launched from California, it splashed down some 6,800 kilometres away in the South Pacific near Kwajalein island, where the U.S. Navy has maintained a base since World War II. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. is contributing $89 million to help rid Ukraine of unexploded ordinance and landmines left by Russian in some areas from where they have retreated. The funds will go to non-governmental organizations to pay for de-mining teams comprised of Ukrainians and for contractors to train them. [node:read-more:link]

Insisting that it remains committed to its strategic arms control treaty with the U.S., Russia is suspending inspections of its facilities. Citing the coronavirus and western sanctions, the foreign ministry said August 8 that “Russia is now forced to resort to this measure as a result of Washington’s persistent desire to implicitly achieve a restart of inspections on conditions that do not take into account existing realities.” It also accused the U.S. of trying to create “unilateral advantages and prevent Russian inspections of U.S. facilities [node:read-more:link]

Alexander Shiplyuk, head of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Russian Academy of Sciences' branch in Siberia, has been arrested on suspicion of treason. Transferred to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center in Moscow, he is the third prominent Russian scientist arrested recently in relation to their work on hypersonic technologies. [node:read-more:link]

For the second time in two weeks, Iran has raised the prospect of nuclear weapons capability. Its top nuclear energy official, Mohammad Eslami, said today that Iran has the “technical ability to build an atomic bomb, but such a programme is not on the agenda.” His comment echoed a July 17 statement by Kamal Kharrazi, an advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, that “Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision.” [node:read-more:link]

A Dutch shipyard has delivered a new ship the Royal Navy expects will facilitate development and deployment of the latest autonomous and lethality technologies. To be used by the service’s experimental unit, NavyX, the 270-ton vessel is expected to reduce demands on the surface warfleet. [node:read-more:link]

The U.S. is sending five high-mobility artillery rocket systems and 580 Phoenix Ghost drones to Ukraine as part of the administration’s latest security package. A spokesman for the White House also acknowledged that officials are discussing “the feasibility of potentially providing fighter aircraft . . . but it’s not going to be something that they’re going to be able to execute immediately.” [node:read-more:link]