A Ghadr-H missile, center, a solid-fuel surface-to-surface Sejjil missile and a portrait of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei are displayed at Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, on Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, for the annual Defense Week which marks the 37th anniversary of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. (Associated Press/Vahid Salemi)
Iran tried twice in the past month to launch a satellite into space. Both attempts ended in failure, and it may not be an accident.
The U.S. has been secretly sabotaging Iranian missiles and rockets, the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing half a dozen current and former officials. Since the program began a little over a decade ago, 67 percent of Iran's orbital launches have failed. The global failure rate for similar launches is only 5 percent.
Russian engineers have designed munitions specifically for the nation’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fleets, according to RIA-Novosti news agency. The weapon’s combat weight is up to fifty kilograms (110lb). In effect, Russians have built precision-guided weapons for their UAVs. According to RIA, the developers are designating these weapons as “air-borne delivery vehicles.” This family of missiles is weighing fifteen, twenty-five, fifty and one hundred kilograms, and is intended for warhead delivery of up to fifty kilograms for a range of twelve to twenty kilometers (seven to thirteen miles) in the “glide mode,” and up to one hundred kilometers (sixty-two miles) when powered by the engine.
Nestled in the southwest corner of the Mojave Desert, California’s Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division — “China Lake” — is one of the finest military testing ranges in the continental United States. Home to 85% of the Navy’s weapons research and development, it covers an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. A cradle for destruction, the range has given birth to the Sidewinder, Hellfire, and Tomahawk missiles; the Joint Direct Attack Munition in high demand by both the Navy and Air Force; and a plethora of unusual testing facilities for electronic warfare to unmanned aerial vehicles.
