Pakistan Test Fires Short-Range Hatf-4
November 29, 2006 :: AP :: News
Pakistan today test-launched a nuclear-capable Hatf-4 (Shaheen-1) short-range ballistic missile, reports the AP. The official Pakistani military statement did not provide details of the test, although an unnamed defense official said the missile hit its target. According to the statement, the test was “part of the ongoing exercises of Pakistan Army’s Strategic Force Command,” and “marked the culmination phase of the training exercise and validated the operational readiness of the Strategic Missile Group … equipped with Shaheen-1 Missiles.” The road-mobile Hatf-4 is believed to be an improved version of the Chinese CSS-7 (M-11), itself a modified Scud. The Hatf-4 is believed to have a range of 750 km, and is designed to destroy strategic assets such as airports, oil refineries, shipyards, ports, and factories. Today’s test came just two days after India announced its first successful interception of a ballistic missile, using a Prithvi-2 missile to shoot down a second, incoming one. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Pakistan, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: CSS-7 (DF-11), Hatf 4
India Claims Successful Missile Interceptor Test
November 27, 2006 :: BBC :: News
India has used a nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 medium-range ballistic missile to intercept another in a missile defense test, Indian defense officials claim. According to the defense ministry, India launched a modified Prithvi-2 simulating the “adversary’s missile” from the Chandipur test range about 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Bhubaneswar, capital of India’s Orissa state. The interceptor, also a Prithvi-2, was fired one minute later from the Wheeler’s Island missile testing center, located in the Bay of Bengal about 170 kilometers (105 miles) north of Bhubaneswar. A spokesperson for India’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) told the BBC that the missiles intersected each other in mid-air about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the coast and then fell into the Bay of Bengal as planned.
If the medium-range Prithvi-2 can be transformed into a viable defense system, it could upset India’s fragile balance of power with Pakistan, which on November 16 test launched its nuclear-capable Hatf-5 (Ghauri-1) medium-range ballistic missile. But Rahul Bedi of Jane’s Defence Weekly points out that India remains far from developing an effective missile interception system. “It’s not easy, India is light years away from developing anything like the American Patriot missile defense system which is designed to detect and destroy incoming missiles,” he told the BBC (Article, Link)
» More stories on: India, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: Prithvi SS-150
India Test Launches Nuclear-Capable Prithvi-2 Missile
November 19, 2006 :: AP :: News
India successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 short-range ballistic missile today, reports the AP. According to an Indian official, the missile was launched from the Bay of Bengal from the test range in Chandipur in the eastern state of Orissa. The test came three days after rival Pakistan carried out a similar test of its nuclear-capable Hatf-5 (Ghauri-1) medium-range ballistic missile. The Prithvi-2 is a road-mobile, liquid-propellant missile based on the Russian S-75 Guideline surface-to-air missile. It was first tested in 1996 and entered into the Indian Air Force in 1999. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Prithvi SS-150
Pakistan Test Launches Medium-Range Hatf-5
November 16, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
Pakistan today test launched its nuclear-capable Hatf-5 (Ghauri-1) medium-range ballistic missile, reports Reuters. According to military sources, the missile was launched from an undisclosed location to mark the end of a series of military exercises. The Hatf 5 has a range of 1,300 km (800 miles) and is easily capable of striking deep into India. It was first tested in 1998, the same year that Pakistan and India conducted their first nuclear tests, and last reported to have been tested in 2004. While previous tests were overseen by scientists, this time the Army Strategic Forces Command conducted the tests, military officials said. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: Hatf 5A
Russia Test-Fires SS-19 Stiletto from Baikonur Cosmodrome
November 9, 2006 :: UPI :: News
Russia today test-launched an SS-19 Stiletto (RS-18) intercontinental ballistic missile from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The missile reportedly carried a dummy warhead and hit its target at the Kura missile training range in Kamchatka, according to a spokesman from the Russian Space Forces. Russia has about 360 silo-based SS-19 missiles in operation, each with a range of 9,000 km and capable of carrying six warheads. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-21 A
» Missile system details for: Baikonur Cosmodrome
North Korea Conducts First Nuclear Test
October 9, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
North Korea today conducted an underground nuclear test, transforming Pyongyang into the world’s newest and most volatile nuclear power. The South Korean government informed U.S. officials that the explosion, registering 3.58 on the Richter scale, took place at 10:36 a.m. local time (1:36 a.m. GMT). Minutes later, North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency announced the test, calling it “a historical event that has brought our military and our people huge joy.” The announcement continued: “The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent. … It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it.” Measurements by the Japan Meteorological Agency showed that the test took place around Gilju, on the country’s northeast coast and around 110 km (70 miles) from the Chinese border. The U.S. Geological Survey confirmed a 4.2 magnitude tremor in North Korea at 10:35 a.m. local time. The White House branded the act “provocative” and said it expected the U.N. Security Council to take immediate action. Analysts have said that North Korea probably has enough fissile material to make six to eight nuclear bombs. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - Foreign, Nuclear Weapons, North Korea
North Korea Vows Nuclear Test
October 3, 2006 :: Reuters :: News
North Korea said today that it will soon conduct its first-ever nuclear test, reports Reuters. According to a statement from North Korea’s foreign ministry, which was broadcast on the official KCNA news agency, “the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a corresponding measure for defense.” The statement added, however, that North Korea would never be the first to use nuclear weapons, and would “do its utmost to realize the denuclearization of the peninsula and give impetus to the world-wide nuclear disarmament and the ultimate elimination of nuclear weapons.” Analysts say that North Korea probably has enough fissile material to produce six to eight nuclear bombs, but does not yet have the technology to make one small enough to mount on a long range ballistic missile. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Testing - Foreign, Nuclear Weapons, North Korea
Russia Test Fires SLBMs from North Pole, Pacific
September 11, 2006 :: Itar-Tass :: News
On Saturday, September 9, Russia successfully test fired a SS-N-23 (R-29RM) submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from a K-84 nuclear-powered submarine deployed under ice at the North Pole. According to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, all three warheads hit their targets at a testing range in the Arkhangesk region on the Barents Sea. The test marked the first time in 11 years that Russia test-fired a submarine-borne missile from underwater at the North Pole. The SS-N-23 has a range of 8,300 km and can carry up to four multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) warheads each equipped with a 100 kiloton nuclear yield.
Ivanov added that another submarine, the K-433 Sv. Georgiy Pobedonosets deployed in the Pacific Ocean, test-fired a SS-N-18 (R-29R) SLBM on Sunday, September 10, and that two of its test warheads hit the targeted range. The SS-N-18 has a range of 6,500 km and can carry 7 to 10 MIRV warheads each with a 100 kiloton nuclear yield, although it is unclear how many warheads the test missile carried. Ivanov referred to the tests as part of “serious exercises of the sea-based strategic nuclear forces.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Russia, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: SS-NX-30, SS-X-14
Pentagon: Video of Iranian Missile Test Is Fake
September 11, 2006 :: Los Angeles Times :: News
U.S. military intelligence has determined that a video released by the Iranian government purporting to show a successful recent test of a submarine-launched missile is in fact fake, reports the Los Angeles Times. According to three Pentagon officials, the plume of smoke from the missile matched a video of an earlier Chinese test. The fake video was released on August 27, broadcast on Iranian state television, and picked up around the world, including by CNN and Fox News. Admiral Sajjad Kouchaki, the top Iranian naval commander, had stated that the weapon, known as Sagheb (“penetrating” or “piercing” in Farsi), was a long-range missile that could be fired from a variety of ships and evade radar. Regional experts speculate that the fake video had been designed to intimidate Iran’s neighbors in the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which are U.S. allies. (Article, Link)
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SS-NX-30 Bulava Test Launch Fails
September 7, 2006 :: Itar-Tass :: News
Itar-Tass reports that a flight test of the Russian SS-NX-30 Bulava ended in failure today. According to a representative of the Ministry of Defense, the missile was launched underwater from the Dmitry Donskoy submarine of the Northern Fleet, but “deviated from its trajectory and fell into the sea.” The Bulava is an intercontinental-range, submarine launched, solid propellant ballistic missile. It is a submarine launched version of the SS-27 Topol-M, which was developed shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union. Four previous Bulava test launches have been successful. (Article, Link)
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» Missile details: SS-26
