A group of prominent scientists who have been critical of missile defense plans told lawmakers that a system being built by the United States cannot protect the country.
The State Department sent cables to all embassies yesterday instructing diplomats to explain to foreign governments how the upcoming attempt to shoot down an out-of-control spy satellite is different from China's destruction of one of its orbiting satellites early last year.
The order by President Bush for the Navy to launch an antimissile interceptor to destroy a disabled satellite before it falls from orbit carries opportunity, but also potential embarrassment, for the administration and advocates of its missile defense program.
Israeli military leaders have begun early planning for a new, robotic defense system, armed with enough artificial intelligence that it "could take over completely" from flesh-and-blood operators in the event of an all-out nuclear attack.
China is starting to ramp up its scramjet propulsion work -- an initiative that will benefit high-speed missile programs. Over the next several decades, the scramjet work could eventually provide China with a tactical hypersonic global-strike capability beyond the country's strategic ballistic missile force. The U.S. has similar goals for its own growing scramjet program.
Taylor Dinerman looks at how solar power satellites could solve the power requirements of the space based radar required for missile defense systems.
The US is increasingly concerned about China's deployment of mobile land and sea-based ballistic nuclear missiles that have the range to hit the US, according to people familiar with an imminent Pentagon report on China's military.
Real-life plasma shields to protect soldiers are only the beginning. The technology -- which use a laser to create a curtain of miniature plasma explosions like firecrackers to turn away an enemy -- could be adapted to turn it into a physical shield, capable of warding off projectiles.
India carried out a successful test on Thursday of its longest-range ballistic missile, the Agni III, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead more than 3,000 km (1,900 miles). Defense analysts say the Agni III is primarily designed to counter the military strength of China, which also has nuclear weapons.
China's anti-satellite test in January increased the country's military threat to Taiwan by demonstrating a limited ability to blind the U.S. satellites that would be deployed in defense of the island, according to a report from the Council on Foreign Relations.