ISIS to launch false flag chemical attack on Syrian Kurds – and Russian military is watching closely

Islamic State terrorists are plotting to shell Kurdish-led militia with chemical-filled munitions in Deir ez-Zor, Syria, Russian military said. The terrorists want to frame Damascus for the attack to trigger new US-led airstrikes.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) has launched production of toxin-filled mortar shells in the east of the Deir ez-Zor province, Russian military said on Wednesday. The shells are filled with chemicals by a crew of 11 terrorists, who received foreign training and came to Syria specifically to carry out the false-flag attack.

IS militants are seeking to shell positions held by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), framing Damascus for the attack. The terrorists seek to trigger massive airstrikes by the US-led coalition against the government forces, the military said.

Russia will send a nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) warning system to the location, as well as Russian NBC specialists, to monitor IS activities, it added.

IS terrorists are currently holding an area in the far east of the country on the left bank of the Euphrates river. The SDF have been battling them for months yet have not managed to eradicate the militants despite receiving heavy air support from the US-led coalition. The strikes have apparently taken a heavy civilian toll, with local media routinely reporting casualties. The coalition has been also accused of using banned munitions in the area, namely white phosphorous bombs to target settlements in the IS-occupied territory.

Moscow’s warning comes shortly after a chemical attack in the city of Aleppo, where anti-government militants apparently shelled the western part of the city with a “poisonous substance,” affecting over 50 people. The attack, however, has not drawn much attention from the international community, let alone resulted in airstrikes against the attackers.

https://www.rt.com/news/445082-isis-falseflag-chemical-attack-deirezzor/

Lasers & space weapons? How US might try to counter invincible Russian & Chinese hypersonic missiles

The testing of hypersonic weapons this year by Moscow and Beijing sent US military bigwigs into panic mode, as they found their missile defenses to be porous. RT looks at what –if anything– the US hopes can respond to those arms.

The American missile defense system, strategically placed all around the globe, has been the centerpiece of the “defensive” capabilities of Washington for years. The system relies on anti-aircraft missiles, supposed to shoot down incoming hostile projectiles. But the emergence of unconventional weaponry –namely the hypersonic missiles– has raised demand for new, equally unconventional defense systems.

Apart from hitting an incoming projectile with an intercepting one, the anti-missile research and development in the US revolved around two main ideas – using lasers and hitting hostile missiles with a kinetic device. The US military-industrial companies have been recycling the two concepts for years, fielding several prototypes that never entered full-scale production.

Getting them in space

The most destructive intercontinental and medium-range ballistic missiles reach high altitudes and travel in space for the large part of their flight. While sub-orbital, a missile releases its warheads –as well as decoys– and adjusts them to stay on target. That’s when the space-based kinetic weaponry is supposed to get them.

The kinetic interceptors played a major role in the notorious ‘Space Wars’ program of the Ronald Reagan era. Back then, they were supposed to impact and destroy enemy satellites. Later, similar devices were designed to target incoming ballistic missiles. Raytheon has successfully fielded its Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, capable of a kinetic hit on a single target in space, yet getting multiple warheads and decoys still remains a challenge.

In the 2000s, Lockheed Martin designed and tested a Multiple Kill Vehicle (MKV) concept. The device was supposed to get into space as the payload of a conventional rocket and then operate on its own. Each MKV was to pack multiple kinetic warheads, capable of intercepting and destroying multiple warheads on incoming ballistic missiles, as well as decoys.

While the MKV program was scrapped due to budget cuts and general doubts over its feasibility, it yielded, at least, a very cool video of hover tests.

….My Opinion………Every time I hear "prototypes that never entered full-scale production" or "scrapped due to budget cuts"…..makes me think we already have them………..

https://www.rt.com/news/445106-us-hypersonic-missile-defence/