A missile-tracking satellite has demonstrated the ability to track hypersonic missiles from space, a potential key component in the White House-mandated Golden Dome for America program to develop an orbital shield to defend the United States. Defense experts say the U.S. faces growing threats from competitors’ development of hypersonic weapons, long-range cruise missiles and orbital bombardment systems. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) confirmed that a Hypersonic Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor (HBTSS) satellite developed by U.S. contractor L3Harris Technologies met performance targets in tests, according to an April 2025 report by SpaceNews online. The MDA launched the L3Harris prototype in February 2024…
Sentry
The United States’ plan for new early warning radars to safeguard the homeland is moving closer to realization. The U.S. Air Force, in a notice published in the Federal Register, said that environmental impact statements are being prepared for the construction of over-the-horizon (OTHR) radar systems. The notice listed one site each in Idaho and Nevada and three in Oregon as possible locations, according to an April 2025 report by the website Breaking Defense. OTHR enables the long-range detection of threats by bouncing radio waves off the Earth’s ionosphere — which starts about 80 kilometers above the surface — and…
A Russian satellite in space that United States officials believe is linked to a nuclear space weapons program appears to be malfunctioning, according to U.S. analysts. The Cosmos 2553 satellite, launched by Russia weeks before invading Ukraine in 2022, has had various bouts of what appears to be erratic spinning during the past year, according to Reuters. The news agency cited data from two U.S. firms that reported the satellite has been spinning out of control, suggesting the spacecraft is no longer operational. In November 2024, U.S.-based firm LeoLabs detected what appeared to be errant movements with the Cosmos 2553…
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said a June 2025 summit will “transform” the Alliance to “one that is stronger, fairer and more lethal so that we can continue to keep our people safe and our adversaries at bay.” Rutte spoke at Chatham House, a London think tank, ahead of the summit and on the heels of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels where representatives from the Alliance’s 32 nations agreed on the new targets to maintaining stability for all its member states. “Because of Russia, war has returned to Europe,” he said. “We also face the threat of terrorism…
The United States is maintaining its commitment to NATO’s nuclear umbrella, according to the Alliance’s nuclear policy director. “The United States maintains its nuclear weapons that are forward deployed here within Europe,” Jim Stokes, NATO’s nuclear policy director, said in an interview with Estonia Public Broadcasting. Stokes spoke to the news outlet before the April 2025 meeting of NATO’s Nuclear Policy Symposium. Held annually since 1992, the two-day symposium brings together NATO and Allied senior officials and outside experts to discuss pressing nuclear challenges facing the Alliance including strategic deterrence, modernization and emerging geopolitical risks. The 2025 meeting was in…
The first enlisted Australian Sailors joined officers from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to graduate from the United States Navy’s Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) as part of AUKUS, the trilateral security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S. NPTU trains officers, enlisted Sailors and civilians for shipboard nuclear power- plant operation and maintenance of surface ships and submarines in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear fleet. Eight RAN Sailors trained alongside U.S. Navy personnel during the six-month course, which included courses in critical subjects and skills including mathematics, nuclear physics, reactor principles and nuclear reactor technology. The Sailors now…
The Republic of Korea (ROK) and United States air forces conducted a bomber mission above the Korean Peninsula in an exercise the two countries said strengthened the Allies’ operational capabilities and countered emerging threats from North Korea. Two U.S. B-1B Lancer bombers were joined by two F-16 Fighting Falcons, two Korean Air Force F-35A Lightning IIs and two Korean KF-16s for combined training in airspace over western South Korea, according to a U.S. Air Force news release. The exercise included offensive and defensive counter air training and combined tactics, techniques and procedures. The drills enhanced the Allies’ combined operational capability…
As geopolitical tensions in Europe evolve, NATO Allies and the United States Army are ready to protect the Alliance’s eastern flank. Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness (DEFENDER) 25 began in April 2025 with the deployment of U.S. personnel and equipment to Europe. The goal is to test how quickly the U.S. military can mobilize forces across long distances, maintain operations and support its Allies from the Arctic to the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions. DEFENDER is the largest U.S. Army exercise in Europe and is designed to confirm the Alliance’s ability to deny…
Japan and NATO are expanding their collaboration to enhance global security. In an April 2025 meeting with NATO’s Secretary-General Mark Rutte in Tokyo, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani announced his country’s interest in participating in the Alliance’s support to Ukrainian. Japan has provided Ukraine with defense equipment and support. Joining the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command in Wiesbaden, Germany, reflects evolving threats — like North Korean soldiers joining Russian troops in their war against Ukraine — that connect Europe and the Indo-Pacific region, leaders said. “Both Japan and NATO face many challenges, and our security environment has…
The Commander of the United States Space Command (USSPACECOM) says space weapons are a crucial piece of maintaining deterrence and stability, as strategic competitors develop their own capabilities. “Our opponents, most notably China, have accelerated the terrestrial and on-orbit space weapons, expanded their space-enabled kill chains, and are moving at breathtaking speed,” Gen. Stephen Whiting told attendees at the April 2025 Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, according to SpaceNews. The annual symposium brought together government and industry leaders to explore new aerospace technologies. Gen. Whiting said the U.S. needs space weapons to deter conflict by preventing adversaries from getting an…