US working to improve early warning system against NKorean missile launches

The US is working to further improve its missile warning system, the commander of US Space Command has said, following a barrage of North Korean missile tests that included multiple ICBM launches

The US is working to further improve its missile warning system, the commander of US Space Command has said, following a barrage of North Korean missile tests that included multiple intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches.

"We are looking at how we integrate a sensor architecture that gives us as much warning as possible in terms of any type of missile activity out of North Korea," Gen James Dickinson said on Tuesday in a webinar hosted by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, a Washington-based research organisation.

Dickinson said the Space Command is currently working to integrate existing US assets into "an architecture where we can provide both the US and our allies and partners as much advanced warning as possible", adding, "We are also looking at how we can incorporate commercial sensors in the same respect."

His remarks come after a recent series of North Korean missile launches, Yonhap news agency reported.

Pyongyang fired over 30 ballistic missiles since late September, also conducting its 10th ICBM test of the year on November 18.

Since the start of the year, the North launched an annual record of 63 ballistic missiles, far exceeding the previous record of 25 in 2019.

The US Space Force established its first regional component command at US Indo-Pacific Command last week, a move apparently aimed at enhancing the US' missile defence capabilities in the region.

Dickinson noted there had already existed a "coordination relationship" between the Space Force and INDOPACOM even before the establishment of the Space Force Indo-Pacific Command, but said the relationship will now mature more.

--IANS

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