On Saturday, the Army News Service confirmed that the U.S. Army has plans to upgrade all its Avenger short range air defense systems. The upgrades include Slew-to-Cue, which automatically turns and locks the turret onto targets from remote radars. All Avenger consoles should be upgraded by the end of September 2020.
On Sunday, Yemen’s Iran backed Houthi rebels claimed they have new types of locally made ballistic missiles and drones they will use in the conflict with the Saudi Arabian led coalition. The drones and missiles were displayed at a military exhibition held by the rebels.
On Monday, Iran announced it was enriching uranium to 4.5% purity and its total stockpile is over the JCPOA limit. Iran would need uranium enriched to 90% to use in nuclear weapons. Iranian officials have stated that Tehran will not negotiate with the United States until sanctions are dropped.
On Tuesday, the State department approved a $2.23 billion arms sale to Taiwan. The order includes 108 M1A2T Abrams tanks and 250 shoulder-fired Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. China has heavily criticized the approval of the sale and states it is a violation of the one China policy.
On Thursday, Qatar selected Raytheon for two contracts to purchase additional integrated air and missile defense capabilities for the country. The contracts – include the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System, final certification of the AMRAAM Extended Range missile, and an unspecified quantity of additional Patriot fire units – are worth approximately $2.2 billion.
On Friday, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced the first shipment of a Russian S-400 missile defense system had arrived in the country. The United States and NATO have strongly condemned the purchase and Turkey could face sanctions and removal from the F-35 program.
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