According to Air Power Australia, the West has paid scant attention to a growing problem—the evolution of Cold War legacy surface-to-air missiles into hybrid forms. Defense analyst Carlo Kopp writing in APA’s Notam says that this hybridization—the relatively inexpensive but sophisticated upgrades to stocks of older SAMs—may well “be occurring on a larger scale than previously anticipated.” He says the “more sophisticated upgrades” increase “radar performance, jam resistance, and track capabilities” and even the mobility or kinematic range. Kopp’s Notam offers examples. This is worth noting.
F-35As from the Vermont Air National Guard have deployed to Puerto Rico in recent days, continuing a major buildup of U.S. Air Force assets in Latin America aimed at combating drug trafficking and pressuring the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
