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14 November 2005 |
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http://www.afpc.org |
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RUSSIA’S TOPOL-M TAKES FLIGHT... Russia has successfully carried out the sixth test of its “Topol-M” advanced intercontinental ballistic missile. The missile “was launched from Kapustin Yar range to hit a target in Balkhash testing ground in neighbouring Kazakhstan,” the Press Trust of India (November 2) reports the Russian daily Kommersant as saying. The test was said to include a fielding of an advanced, maneuverable warhead, which Russian sources predict will make the “Topol-M” capable of defeating any American missile defenses. “The Russian military claims that maneuvres of the warhead on the final stretch of its trajectory do not allow its interception and destruction by the missile defence systems,” according to Kommersant. ...SHOWCASING NEW TECHNOLOGY The development of this new, maneuverable warhead is central to Russia’s evolving strategic posture. “Since 1990, the missile fleet of the Strategic Missile Forces has effectively contracted by two-thirds to some 500 missiles today. Scores of missiles are decommissioned every year. The Armed Forces are receiving only a handful,” one Russian defense ministry source tells Interfax-AVN (November 2). “In these conditions the development of fundamentally new delivery vehicles in Russia could ensure nuclear parity.” Russian officials have also provided new insights into the technology involved in the new warhead. Speaking with the news agency on condition of anonymity, the source has divulged that the warhead “can glide to the target for a long time, significantly changing altitude and course” with the help of a “powerful booster.” According to the Russian official, “[t]his type of delivery vehicle has several advantages... First, it reduces the duration of the first stage of the rocket flight, which is most vulnerable from the viewpoint of missile defense. But what is even more important, it reduces to zero the chances of the last line of air defense of the probable adversary – a distance of 500-600 kilometers. No missile defense can cope with it.” IRAN AND SYRIA’S MANY MISSILE PARTNERS Apparently, North Korea’s proliferation practices die hard. Middle East Newsline (November 4) reports that the Bush administration has identified some eight interconnected North Korean “entities” engaged in broadening Syria and Iran’s strategic arsenals. The firms – including the Pyongyang-based Heson Trading Corporation and Tosong Technology Trading Corporation – were formally designated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on October 21st under Executive Order 13382, opening them up to the imposition of biting financial sanctions. Among the projects reportedly receiving aid from the North Korean companies are Iran’s “Shahab-3” medium-range missile and Syria’s short-range “Scud-D.” But Pyongyang is hardly the only source of missile technology for the Iranian and Syrian regimes. Citing the Russian newsmagazine Focus, the Deutche Press-Agentur (November 5) reports that the two countries have begun to obtain sophisticated missile-related equipment originating in Germany via criminal enterprises in Moscow. According to Focus, a recent alert from the German government has warned the country’s industry that fifteen firms based in Moscow – including the State Technical University of Moscow – are involved in funneling missile components to the Middle East, and warned against future sales of technology to those companies. TAIPEI NIXES PAC-3 PURCHASE Taiwan’s parliament has rejected a governmental proposal to buy three units of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) theater missile defense system from the United States. Taiwan News (November 11) reports that the NT$10.9 billion budget provision was recently rejected by the island nation’s parliament, with Taiwanese lawmakers citing as precedent a 2004 referendum that failed to garner majority support for such a purchase. Proponents of the acquisition, however, have urged reconsideration of the decision in light of China’s ongoing missile build-up on its eastern seaboard, which could reach 1,000 short-range missiles by year’s end.
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