Tag: AirDefense
Chinese MANPADS Could Complicate America’s Iran Air War
Iran may be weeks away from receiving hundreds of Chinese-made shoulder-fired air-defense systems, giving Tehran a weapon unlikely to reverse U.S. dominance in the air but potentially capable of making some of the most dangerous American missions even harder. There is already a combat case suggesting the risk is not…
U.S. Locks In Massive Patriot Production Expansion
The U.S. government has awarded Lockheed Martin a seven-year contract modification worth up to $53.86 billion for Patriot PAC-3 MSE interceptors, bringing the total multiyear program to $58.62 billion after an initial $4.7 billion award in April.The money buys time, not missiles. Lockheed delivered 620 PAC-3 MSE interceptors in 2025…
Iran Turns to Chinese Missiles for Air Defense
Iran is preparing to receive 300 to 400 Chinese-made man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), including QW-12 and FN-16 missiles, three sources familiar with the deal told Reuters. First deliveries could arrive within weeks.The reported purchase comes as Tehran rebuilds an air-defense network degraded by months of U.S. and Israeli strikes. Iranian…
Shortage of Missiles Paused US Iran Strikes
President Trump's decision to shelve a planned two-week intensification of strikes on Iran followed a private warning from his own top general. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cautioned Trump, in an account officials gave to the Wall Street Journal, that continued high-tempo strikes would deepen…
Romania Starts Shooting Down Russia’s Drones
Romania shot down a drone over the Black Sea on July 26, the third such interception in three days, marking a sharp change in how the NATO member responds to incursions linked to Russia's attacks on neighboring Ukraine.A Romanian F-16 destroyed the drone roughly 12 kilometers northeast of Sulina, in…
U.S. Starts Rationing Air Defenses Against Iranian Strikes
U.S. commanders are deliberately allowing some Iranian missiles and attack drones through their air defenses, accepting damage to military installations rather than expend interceptors that are growing harder to replace, according to NBC News.Two senior U.S. officials told NBC News that commanders have been choosing which incoming weapons to intercept…
Iran Strikes Widen to Three Gulf States
Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan all reported military activity linked to Iran overnight Monday, as US strikes on Iranian targets entered a tenth consecutive night and widened the conflict's regional footprint. CENTCOM said it completed another round of strikes against Iran at 9 p.m. ET on July 20, according to CENTCOM's…
Lockheed Unveils Lower-Cost Patriot Interceptor
Lockheed Martin unveiled the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (ACE) at the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday, introducing a lower-cost interceptor for the Patriot air-defense system that the company says will cost less than half as much as the current PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), estimated at about $4 million per…
Cheap Drones Are Rewriting Energy Security
For decades, governments measured energy security by asking whether oil and gas could move safely across oceans and pipelines. The principal threats were conventional wars, naval blockades, piracy or attacks on a handful of high-profile facilities. Protect the sea lanes, defend a few critical chokepoints and maintain strategic reserves, the…
Kyiv Hit by Massive Ballistic Attack
Russia launched one of its most massive ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv overnight into July 19, killing one person and injuring 16 others across the capital and surrounding region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy wrote that Russian forces fired more than 40 missiles of various types, most aimed at the…
