28 Nov 12. The Israel Missile Defense Organization and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency completed the first phase of the development of the David Sling Weapon System (DSWS) by conducting a successful interception test. This test included for the first time a successful interception by the Stunner Missile of the DSWS. The test was conducted by Rafael advanced defense systems at a test range in the southern part of Israel. The DSWS is designed to provide an additional layer of defense against ballistic missiles by adding additional opportunities of interception to the joint
U.S.-Israel Arrow Weapon System, resulting in an improvement in the State of Israel’s defense architecture against missile threats. The prime contractor for the integration and development of the David Sling Weapon System is Rafeal, in conjunction with Raytheon. Personnel from the Israel Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency conducted the flight test. (Source: ASD Network)

27 Nov 12. Rheinmetall delivers Mantis air defence system to German Air Force. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) has taken delivery of the modular, automatic and network-capable targeting and interception system (MANTIS) air defence system from Rheinmetall Defence. The weapon system is scheduled to be deployed with the 1st air defence squadron (Flugabwehrraketengeschwader 1), based at Husum, Germany, after the air force assumed responsibility for all national air defence and anti-aircraft missions from the German Army in August 2010. Derived from Oerlikon Skyshield air defence technology, the Mantis is a short-range counter-rocket, artillery and mortar (C-RAM) system designed to safeguard military sites and critical civilian infrastructure from aerial threats, such as low-flying manned and unmanned aircraft. The system was specifically developed to protect the army’s forward-operating bases in Masar-I-Sharif and Kunduz, Afghanistan, from rocket, artillery and mortar attacks.

28 Nov 12. Pakistan test-fired its Ghauri/Hatf-V (Vengeance V) medium-range ballistic missile Nov. 28, a liquid-fueled missile that some observers say is not well-suited to Pakistan’s needs. According to the military’s Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR) media branch, the Ghauri/Hatf-V was test-fired “by a Strategic Missile Group of the Army Strategic Force Command on the culmination of a field training exercise that was aimed at testing the operational readiness of the Army Strategic Force Command.” The test was monitored at the National Command Center by the National Command Authority’s fully automated Strategic Command and Control Support System (SCCSS). (Source: Defense News)

27 Nov 12. U.S. Special Operations Command is recalling thousands of body armor plates after discovering a manufacturer’s defect that could put operators at risk. At the same time defense industry experts are questioning whether SOCOM may have added to the risk by searching for the lightest plates possible. Throughout the war, elite troops have worn body armor known as the Special Operations Forces Equipment Advanced Requirements, or SPEAR, made by Ceradyne Defense. The lightweight, ceramic plates have proven to be effective at stopping enemy rifle bullets and weigh significantly less than the conventional Army’s Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert, or ESAPI. A little less than a year ago, government inspectors discovered a defect in Ceradyne’s new SPEAR Gen III plates. The special, metal “crack arrestor” in the back of the plate began separating or “delaminating” from the plate’s ceramic material. The arrestor was designed to reduce the spreading of cracks in the ceramic when dropped – a common characteristic of all ceramic body armor plates. (Source: Military.com)

28 Nov 12. Lockheed’s anti-munition system demonstrates target engagement capabilities. The Lockheed Martin-built Area Defense Anti-Munitions (ADAM) system has successfully demonstrated its target engagement capabilities during a series of tes