The US agreed to a site for its new Japan-based missile defense radar, and is evaluating potential locations for an additional ground-based interceptor missile to confront emerging ballistic missile threats, Missile Defense Agency Director Vice Adm. James Syring announced. The radar will be based at the Japan Self Defense Force Kyogamisaki air defense base on the country’s western coast, stated Syring in a Mar. 4 DOD release. “We are taking these steps to stay ahead of the challenges posed by Iran and North Korea in terms of what they’re doing with the longer-range ballistic missile defense capability,” he added. Syring said Kyogamisaki is the “perfect site for this radar,” and praised the Japanese government’s “forthright” cooperation on the project. The agency is evaluating four locations for a potential new interceptor missile site, which is in addition to the 14 interceptors slated for Ft. Greely, Alaska, Syring said.
United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan Centaur rocket is slated to fly its second national security mission in February—nearly six months after its first operational launch and almost a year after it was certified to fly military payloads for the Space Force.
