ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

North Korea launched its Hwasong-15 ICBM into the waters west of Japan at 3:17 am local time on Wednesday.  Barely six minutes later, South Korean artillery, air force, and Navy sprang into action and began firing missiles into the waters off eastern Korea – yet another military show of force meant to intimidate the North into ceasing its missile strikes. The retaliatory display was calibrated to target a spot in the waters off the Korean peninsula that was exactly as far away as Pyongsong, a town about 20 miles north of Pyongyang where the Hwasong 15 was reportedly launched. The distance was meant to signify that the South Korean military could destroy the North’s missile launchers if it chose to do so, the  Wall Street Journal. But while the precision strike probably impressed any bystanders who were watching, in reality, the South’s technology for detecting and responding to North Korean missile launches is still unreliable. But detecting missile tests is an imper...

Click to see the full-size image Chairman of Committee on Defense and Security of the Russian Federation Council and former Commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces Viktor Bondarev  evaluated  the upgrades of the Mi-28 helicopters. “Mi-28s were improved thanks to Syria. Well, [the pilots] say that some things became better, but not all things — the electronics are severely lacking: pilots can’t see, pilots can’t hear a thing. The pilots call the goggles they wear “pilot’s death”. If the sky is clear, then it’s fine. If there’s some smoke, then you get red eyes for three days,” the senator said. Bondarev voiced these criticisms at a hearing regarding the military-industrial complex and military trade laws as a reaction to the industry’s complaints of insufficient support to experimental developments. The Mi-28 is an all-weather, day-night, military tandem, two-seat anti-armor attack helicopter. It carries a single gun, plus external loads carried on pylons beneath...

Click to see the ful-size map On December 1, the Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu revealed the location of 13 ammo depots in the provinces of al-Hasakah, Raqqa and Aleppo where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are storing the weapons and ammunition received from the US-led coalition. The 13 large ammo depots of the SDF are located in Afrin, Ain al-Arab, Sirrin, Harab Isk, Chalabiya, Tal Abyad, Soluk, Dirbasiya, Gibse, Tal Baidar, Zone 47, al-Hul and Maliqiyya, according to the report. Syrian pro-government sources confirmed the information provided by the Turkish meida. According to them, Maliqiyya and Tal Baidar are the biggest ammo depots of the SDF. The Anadolu agency also revealed that the SDF is mainly receiving weapons and ammunition form the US-led coalition through the Semalka border crossing on the Syrian-Iraqi border. The Iraqi side of Semalka is currently under the control of Kurdish Peshmerga forces. However, the Iraqi federal government is plan...