In Geopolitics Today - Monday, August 2nd
The US Agrees Arms Sale with Poland; Proposes Deals with Israel, Thailand and The US Facing Difficulties in Hypersonic Missile Race
The US Agrees Arms Sale with Poland; Proposes Deals with Israel, Thailand
The United States has successfully negotiated an arms sale to Poland last month, and has proposed two new deals with Israel and Thailand over the last month. Having reached an agreement with Warsaw over a Polish purchase of 250 US-made M1A2 (SEP3 variant) tanks for $6 million each last month, the US has since confirmed a further two proposed arms sales to both Israel and Thailand. The State Department has greenlit the sale of 18 CH-53K helicopters to Israel worth up to $3.4 billion, as well as the sale of 300 Javelin missiles to Thailand in a deal worth $83.5 million.
As mentioned in a previous post, Poland has been interested in a purchase of 250 of the most advanced variants of the US-made M1 Abrams tank. The M1A2SEP3 is currently considered by many to be the most advanced version of the M1 tank. The 66-ton tank is equipped with the Israeli-developed Trophy ADS (active defence system), which has demonstrated a combat effectiveness against ATGMs (anti-tank guided missiles) and RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). Now, with agreement over the deal between Washington and Warsaw reached, the delivery of these 250 tanks is set to begin in 2022.
Unlike the deal with Poland, the proposed arms sales to Israel and Thailand are yet to be finalised, but they nonetheless indicate an early stage in the weapons acquisition process for these countries. The deals are currently in the negotiating stage, and the US State Department green light means that it is now up to lawmakers in Congress to weigh in on the deal.
The US State Department noted that the $3.4 billion sale to Israel would improve Israeli “capability to transport armoured vehicles, personnel, and equipment to support distributed operations.” Whereas the proposed sale of Javelin missiles to Thailand is touted to be the replacement for the Thai Royal Army’s “obsolete” 106mm recoilless rifles and light anti-tank capability. Aside from the introduction of advanced weaponry to Thailand, the deal is also intended to “enhance interoperability with the US during operations and training exercises.”
Read more about this story here.
The US Facing Difficulties in Hypersonic Missile Race
Due to the fact that hypersonic missiles fly on a much flatter trajectory than ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons systems promise to strike targets faster, more precisely, and are generally far more difficult to track and eliminate by missile defences currently fielded by militaries across the world. The United States military, accustomed to holding the technological edge in military capabilities since the end of the Cold War, is now in a position where it is playing catch-up to China and Russia, both of which have introduced such weapons systems into active service.
But initial US attempts at developing its own hypersonic missile system have been slow. Currently, the most advanced hypersonic missile project in development — Lockheed-Martin’s AGM183 — is in its initial flight-testing phase, having recently conducted only its second flight test overall.
While the missile has already successfully demonstrated the capability to transmit telemetry and GPS data to ground stations, there have been few signs that the project is ready to attempt a live-fire testing phase. Its first flight test in April ran into problems as the missile failed to release from a B-52. And on a more recent flight test conducted last week, the bomber did manage to release the missile but the engine on the missile itself failed to ignite.
The US Air Force, which is overseeing the development of the AGM183, is now at least seven months behind the flight test schedule that the program was initially set, which expected a live-fire test by the end of 2020.
Read more about this story here.