WASHINGTON • Technology for ballistic and cruise missiles is advancing in countries from North Korea and Iran to Russia and China, increasing potential threats to the United States even if they don’t carry nuclear warheads, according to a new Pentagon report..
WASHINGTON • Technology for ballistic and cruise missiles is advancing in countries from North Korea and Iran to Russia and China, increasing potential threats to the United States even if they don’t carry nuclear warheads, according to a new Pentagon report.
“Many countries view ballistic and cruise missile systems as cost-effective weapons and symbols of national power, ” defence intelligence agencies said in the report obtained by Bloomberg News in advance of its release.
“Many ballistic and cruise missiles are armed with weapons of mass destruction. However, numerous types of ballistic and cruise missiles have achieved dramatic improvements in accuracy that allow them to be used effectively with conventional warheads.”
The report comes as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks a way to stop North Korea’s drive to develop a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that could hit the US mainland.
While the study cites the ballistic missile programmes being pursued by Mr Kim Jong Un’s regime in Pyongyang and by Iran, it also describes a broader proliferation of missiles, advanced technology and launch options.
