North Korea is working on a rocket so big that it makes the long-range Taepodong-2 missile it's preparing to test-launch look modest, South Korean government sources tell the Chosun Ilbo.

Based on satellite images, they've determined that the North is working on a missile with a booster so large that it could fire more than 6,200 miles, meaning it would be capable of reaching the continental US.

The officials aren't sure if the missile is functional, or "a life-sized mockup," but they suspect it will be unveiled either during a military parade on April 15, or during the army's April 25 centennial celebration.

The North has around 10,000 missile experts with "considerable research skills," a source said in a separate report, and has spent some $3.1 billion on developing long-range ballistic missiles so far. For reference, South Korea has about 3,000 rocket experts total between the public and private sectors.

This post was originally published at Newser.

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A senior US lawmaker has conceded that there is little the world can do to prevent North Korea from launching a long-range rocket later this month, and he has urged China to take a bigger role in reining in its volatile ally.

Jim Webb, who sits on the Senate foreign relations committee, said China needed to step up cooperation with the rest of the world in addressing concerns over North Korea, as the regime in Pyongyang again prepares to defy international opinion with the launch of a long-range rocket within the next two weeks.

The senator held a press conference Thursday in Tokyo to address North Korea's forthcoming launch, which is expected around April 15 to coincide with the centenary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il Sung.

North Korea insists that the launch is designed to put an observation satellite into orbit.

But Webb, who also chairs the East Asia and Pacific affairs subcommittee, said it would be a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning the North from engaging in missile development, as well as a threat to peace and security.

The US and its allies in the region fear that the launch is part of a wider program to develop ballistic missiles capable of striking the US mainland, possibly with the ability to deliver nuclear warheads.

More from GlobalPost: Obama tests his sway over North Korea

Webb acknowledged that the regime's opacity, coupled with limited US human intelligence in the country, has lent extra weight to China's potential role in persuading the North to abandon is long-range missile and uranium enrichment programs, and return to stalled six-party nuclear talks.

"The whole region would benefit from the Chinese government being more open and visible in assisting us with international situations such as the stand-off with North Korea," the Democrat from Virginia told reporters.

In an attempt to address criticism of its "secretive" missile program, North Korea has invited international observers to the launch, which could take place on any morning between April 12 and 17, according to reports. Japan has refused to attend. This week the US State Department urged other nations not to lend the regime legitimacy by attending.

"We call on the international community to abstain from taking any actions, such as sending observers, that might be seen as endorsing a launch that would be in blatant defiance of [North Korea's] international obligations and commitments,'' South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed official as saying.

North Korea's announcement of the launch, coming soon after it had apparently struck a "Leap Day" agreement with the US on Feb. 29, has increased pressure on the Obama administration in the run-up to a presidential election. The deal would have given the impoverished North, where there are renewed fears of malnutrition, particularly among children, access to tens of thousands of tons of food aid in return for halting its nuclear and missile programs.

More from GlobalPost: Burma open for business?

But recent attempts at engagement, as with punitive measures, have had little impact on the North's military ambitions.

Tough international sanctions were imposed following its most recent long-range missile launch and nuclear test in 2009, only for the world to discover at the end of 2010 that its uranium enrichment program was far more advanced than previously thought.

"The launch involves a missile, whichever way you look at it," Webb said, adding that it comes "at a time when we were testing the intentions of the North Korean regime. There were negotiations tied to food aid and a clear understanding that not be this kind of activity by North Korea."

The prospect of the North's fourth rocket launch in 12 years is causing disquiet in Japan, which is already within striking distance of the regime's medium-range Rodong missiles.

North Korean authorities have told the international maritime organization that the first stage of the Unha-3 rocket will come down about 87 miles off the west coast of South Korea, while the second will fly over a chain near the main Okinawa island before falling into the sea east of the northern Philippines.

In 1998, North Korea sent a missile over Japan's main island before it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. While the planned trajectory for this latest rocket should avoid a recurrence of that, Japan says it is taking no chances.

On Thursday, officials in Tokyo said they had completed the deployment of ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptor missile defense systems on and around the southern island of Okinawa as well as in Tokyo. The defense ministry has also deployed three Aegis-equipped destroyers carrying sea-based interceptors.

More from GlobalPost: Kim Jong Un-certainty, a series

Some have cast doubt on Japan's ability to shoot down the rocket or any fragments, but Webb said of Tokyo's preparations: "I think it's prudent. It's better to have something ready and not use it than the other way round."

He ruled out any covert attempts by the US or its allies to sabotage the rocket launch, which will at least give Washington an opportunity to gauge how far North Korea's ballistic rocket technology has advanced over the past three years.

There is no guarantee that the launch will be a success, of course.

In 2006, when North Korea launched an earlier version of the missile currently being prepared for launch, it exploded less than a minute after liftoff. Three years later, another rocket failed to separate properly and took the satellite it was carrying into the Pacific Ocean.

In a new report, the National Institute for Defense Studies in Tokyo warned that North Korea's progress on nuclear technology, coupled with recent regime change, had increased the risk of conflict breaking out in the region.

Webb, who held talks with local leaders in Okinawa, which hosts about half the 50,000 US troops in Japan, described ties between Tokyo and Washington as "the most important in the region."

"Our aim is to work with Japan and South Korea to ensure stability in Northeast Asia," he said. "Because without that we won't have stability anywhere in Asia."

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North Korea is planning a nuclear test and using the imminent rocket launch as an excuse, a South Korean intelligence report obtained by CNN says.

The report says there’s a good chance that North Korea will use the international condemnation that is sure to ensue after the rocket launch this week as an excuse to carry out a nuclear test at Punggye-ri, the site in the country’s northeast where the previous two tests were carried out. It cited satellite images of the final stages of a tunnel being dug at the site.

North Korean state media have not announced a nuclear test.

In a rare gesture, North Korean officials invited international journalists to the Sohae Satellite Launching Station in Tongchang-ri to view the rocket, MSNBC reports. "If you look for yourselves with your own eyes, then you can judge whether it's a ballistic missile, or whether it's a launch vehicle to put a satellite into orbit," Jang Myong Jin, head of the launch site, said through a translator.

See photos of the launch site here >

The U.S., Japan, Britain, and other nations have urged North Korea to cancel the launch, warning it would violate U.N. resolutions and North Korea's promise to refrain from nuclear and missile activity (in exchange for food aid), according to the AP. They also fear Pyongyang is testing missile technology that could be used on the United States. Even China, a traditional ally, has expressed concern over the launch.

"[The missile launch and a nuclear test] will send a very strong message to the world... we are here, we are dangerous, unpredictable and it's better to deal with us by giving us monetary and food concessions," Andrei Lankov of Seoul's Kookmin University told CNN.

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It's been just over three months since former North Korean president Kim Jong-Il died and was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un.

At the time, the succession was met with speculation and concern about what direction the new regime would take, and if it would adhere to the militant policies handed down through the generations.

See the pictures >

It hasn't taken long to find out that it has and it will, but now, after the 2010 attack against the South, it's a whole new ballgame.

That year the North rained down an artillery barrage on the South in November after allegedly sinking the South Korean ship the Cheonan in March.

The artillery attack was likely the last set of blows the South is prepared to receive standing down, and the sinking of the Cheonan resulted in South Korean ship captains being given permission to fire on the North at will.

That means if a single shot gets fired at the South Korean Navy there are no checks and balances to keep the scene from flaring up into a full-blown fight.

The launching of this missile sometime within the next few days has ratcheted regional tensions to a new high, and South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. have all said they're prepared to shoot the rocket down should it wander from its path.

If that happens, the North has already said they'll consider it an act of war and pledged "merciless punishment" upon the responsible country.

These Associated Press pictures take us inside the launch site, the command center, and the surrounding preparations for what could be the most watched event on the Korean peninsula in years. 

The North Korea's Unha-3 rocket is slated for liftoff between April 12-16

Currently, it stands at Sohae Satellite station in Tongchang-ri, North Korea

North Korean space officials said Tuesday that all assembly and preparations for a planned satellite launch have been completed

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India is scheduled to test-fire a long-range, nuclear warhead-enabled missile, capable of reaching deep into Asia or Europe, next week, a defence ministry official has told Reuters.

The test launch of the Agni V would put New Delhi in the company of a small club of nations with intercontinental defence capabilities. Only China, Russia, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel are believed to currently own such long-range missiles.

Agni V has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles), which means it can target any location in China with a 2,200-ton nuclear warhead, IBNLive reports. India has constantly maintained it uses the missiles only as deterrents. And while many might think announcing a launch so soon after North Korea’s failed attempt and the ensuing criticism might be unwise, the success of Agni is crucial to India.

Here’s why...

1. It needs to solidify its position as a growing global power

India has been striving to be a global geopolitical superpower to match its growing economy for some time now. It’s stepped up attempts to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it has continued to develop nuclear capabilities, and it is planning missions to Mars and the Moon as well.

India has been called an emerging economic powerhouse, but it very rarely wields political power in international diplomacy to match this. According to Peter Drysdale of the East Asia Forum, India is often seen as a pawn in the America vs. China battle for global dominance. Continuing to develop better, more advanced weapons could make the world sit up and take notice.

2. It’s part of the customary saber-rattling to keep regional rivals (especially China) at bay

India and China have always regarded each other with mutual suspicion (often egged on by the media). China has regularly conducted troop movements and arms buildups in disputed areas with India, which leads to New Delhi beefing up deployments along the borders. Chinese soldiers have often been caught allegedly illegally crossing the border into Indian territory.

China has repeatedly, yet somewhat subtly, registered its disapproval with India’s military activities, even though it continues to improve its own military might. And while it seems unlikely that there will be a repeat of the 1962 Indo-China War any time soon, given the enormous volume of trade between the two countries, the fact remains that China is one of the countries that possesses a long-range missile.

And if you believe in the “String of Pearls” theory (that China is creating a sphere of influence in Asia around India that could isolate it), for India to not have a long range missile, especially one like the Agni V, whose range covers all of China, even if it serves merely as a deterrent would be unwise.

3. It would be a morale booster for the Indian armed forces and could smooth over differences with the government

The Indian military has been involved in numerous run-ins with the government recently, from the Chief of Army Staff’s attempts to stall his mandatory retirement, to an allegedly leaked letter from him to the government claiming India’s weapons were outdated and accusations of corruption, to unsubstantiated reports of an impending coup and alleged bugging of the Defence Minister’s office.

Divisions between the military and civilian government is dangerous, given that India is surrounded by countries hostile to it. The rocket launch will showcase India’s military might not just to the world, but to its own soldiers as well, who obviously will be smarting under allegations of being under-prepared.

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Pakistan's military today claimed the successful launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, days after rival India successfully launched a nuclear-capable missile able to reach China in a new show of strength,reported The New York Times.

Pakistani authorities told NYT that today's test-firing of the Hatf IV Shaheen-1A missile was not related to India's military activities. 

The two nations have officially gone to war three times since their partition by the British in 1947. Relations remain tense. 

More from GlobalPost: India will need more than a missile

The military released a statement saying the missile, which has a greater range than Pakistan's previous missiles, was fired into the Indian ocean, said Reuters. Its exact range was not immediately clear.

Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division head Khalid Ahmed Kidwai told NYT that the missile can carry a nuclear warhead. Islamabad-based defense analyst Mansoor Ahmed said that would help the weapon avoid detection, calling the test an example of Pakistan's "resolve and capability to modernize its nuclear delivery systems," according to NYT. 

Pakistan, which along with India has not signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, has a weapons arsenal stocked with various missiles named after Muslim conquerors, according to The Telegraph. 

The country is believed to have the fastest-growing nuclear stockpile in the world, analysts told Reuters. 

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It's possible that you will know less about how a guided missile works after listening to this actual recording from the U.S. Air Force (via Keith Rowland's My Life Dock):

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Chinese firms are breaking a United Nations embargo by supplying North Korea with key components for ballistic missiles including launch vehicles, according to evidence provided by an intelligence agency in the region.

Classified documents seen by The Daily Telegraph show that Beijing has failed to act when confronted with evidence that Chinese companies are breaking UN Resolution 1874 and helping North Korea to build long range missiles.

This measure, passed with China's support on June 12, 2009, strengthens an arms embargo by urging all UN members to inspect North Korean cargoes and destroy any items linked to the country's missile or nuclear programmes.

But a study compiled by the intelligence agency of a country in the region shows how North Korean companies are continuing to buy banned materials in China. These entities "have been smuggling in or out controlled items by either setting up and operating a front company in China, or colluding with Chinese firms to forge documents and resorting to other masking techniques," says the report.

The companies include the Korea Mining Development Trading Corporation, known as KOMID, which deals in weapons and military equipment and has been singled out for UN sanctions.

Launch vehicles for long range missiles are among the items illegally purchased inside China. North Korea is currently trying to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that would be able to reach the United States. The country has already built a handful of nuclear bombs.

"The North Korean entities subject to UN sanctions are known to have been deeply involved in the North Korean procurement of Chinese ICBM transporter-erector-launcher vehicles," says the report.

In August 2011, Changgwang Trading Corporation, a front company for KOMID, bought four lorries in China that were then altered into ICBM launchers and displayed in a parade in Pyongyang to celebrate the centenary of the birth of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung.

In addition, the Korea Ryonbong General Corporation purchased 2 tons of vanadium, which is used in the manufacture of missiles, from a Chinese company in May 2011.

Much of the equipment was shipped to North Korea from the Chinese port of Dalian.

"The UN North Korea Sanctions Committee has frequently asked China for clarification of North Korea's weapons transport through the port of Dalian, but China is said to have been shifting the responsibility to shipping companies of other nations or refusing to answer," says the report.

Sometimes, a bribe of between £40,000 – £60,000 is paid to a customs official to send each 40ft container filled with illegal missile components through Dalian, according to the report. North Korea also conceals its shipments.

"To hide its trade, North Korea has been using all available means, including falsely describing the contents of the shipments, forging the country of origin as China and purchasing the materials in the name of Chinese firms," adds the report.

Personnel from North Korean banks and trading companies regularly meet at Beijing International Airport to deliver large sums of money earned from weapons deals. This happens with the "connivance of Chinese authorities and the customs office," says the report.

China is North Korea's oldest and most committed ally, sending millions of "volunteer" soldiers to fight for the North during the war caused by its invasion of South Korea in 1950.

More recently, Beijing has propped up the bankrupt state with fuel and food supplies, while providing diplomatic support in the Security Council. China's aim is to guarantee the presence of a friendly state on its north-eastern border instead of a united Korean peninsula that might fall into America's orbit.

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Baseball's statistical revolution gets way more publicity than what goes on in other sports.

The truth, however, is that big data analysis is happening across all sports and the latest wave hitting the NBA will have drastic implications.

Small cameras designed for missile tracking now adorn the catwalks at 10 NBA arenas and track every player's movements 25 times per second, according to Fast Company (via PBT).

Dubbed basketball's Moneyball, the system is called SportVU and the kind of precise data it can track is quite amazing.

SportVU can tell you not just Kevin Durant’s shooting average, but his shooting average after dribbling one vs. two times, or his shooting average with a defender three feet away vs. five feet away. SportVU can actually consider both factors at once, plus take into account who passed him the ball, how many minutes he’d been on the court, and how many miles he’d run that game already.

Cameras capture X/Y coordinates for every player and referee as well as the 3-D coordinates (X/Y/Z) of the ball, complex algorithms take other variables like lines on the court into account, and then a server puts everything together to churn out a readable statistical report.

Although the system is only available in 10 NBA arenas, every team in the league has equal access to this information.

The challenge is now getting these tiny web cams into the other arenas across the country. But as Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk explains, that shouldn't be very difficult considering that Erik Spoelstra, a stats-oriented coach, is on the cusp of an NBA championship.

Check out what other statistical advancements may come from this technology→

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This weekend, the EU and the US imposed some of the harshest sanctions on Iran yet. Aside from the already impactful decision to cease buying Iranian oil, member countries have now agreed to refuse insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil. Almost immediately, prices in Iran skyrocketed.

Iran didn't just take the punch though; they threw a big 'ole uppercut right back. 

Just a few hours after the sanctions started, Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee drafted a bill proposing preventing oil tankers from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz to countries in support of the sanctions. Currently, about 20% of the world's oil passes through this strait.

Iran then proceeded to begin testing ballistic missiles, including the Shahab-3 missile, which can travel distances up to 2,000 kilometers—far enough to hit Israel and the southern shore of Europe, according to the AFP.

Missile testing of this nature in Iran is not unique, but the message they were trying to send was. On March 4th, Obama expressed that 'all options remain on the table' concerning the handling of Iran and their nuclear program.

General Hossein Salami, the number two man in the Revolutionary Guards, told the IRNA news agency the reason behind the military exhibition, later republished by the Telegraph. 

"The message of these Grand Prophet 7 manoeuvres is to show the determination, the will and the power of the Iranian people in defending their national interests and core values", said Salami. "It's a reaction to those who are politically discourteous to the Iranian people by saying 'all options are on the table."

The United States had been planning on events like these for a while however. In March, the Navy began sending mine sweeping ships to the strait, believing that if Iran were to try and close the strait, they would choose mines over direct military confrontation. 

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JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is upgrading its Arrow II ballistic missile shield in a U.S.-backed "race" against Iran, Syria and other regional enemies, a senior Israeli defense official said on Sunday.

The new "Block 4" generation of guided interceptor rockets, radars and technologies for synchronizing Arrow with U.S. systems was being installed in deployed Israeli batteries, a process that would take several weeks, the official said.

"The accuracy and the reach will be greater," the official said of Arrow, which has been operational since 2000 and is designed to blow up incoming missiles at altitudes high enough for non-conventional warheads to disintegrate safely.

"It is part of the technological race in the region," added the official, who declined to be named given the sensitivity of the issue.

Long jittery about Iran's disputed nuclear program, Israel has more recently worried the Syrian insurgency could loosen Damascus's hold on its chemical weapons and Scud missiles.

Israel has threatened to attack preemptively in both countries, a prospect that could trigger wider war and clash with Washington's efforts to resolve the crises diplomatically.

The Pentagon and U.S. firm Boeing Co are partners in Arrow, an investment that the Obama administration hopes will help stay the Israelis' hand.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said last week that Arrow, like a similar Israeli interceptor for short-range guerrilla rockets, Iron Dome, were "designed to prevent wars".

ALLIES

Iran, which denies seeking nuclear weapons, has vowed reprisals for any Israeli attack, and on Saturday unveiled a new missile.

Syria, for its part, last month went public with its chemical arsenal, saying it was intended for last-resort use against "external aggression".

Tehran also has Islamist guerrilla allies in Lebanon and Gaza which could shell Israel during any regional conflict. Their short-range rocket arsenals have been expanding and improving as well, the senior Israeli defense official said.

Having helped underwrite Arrow, the Americans were free to draw on its technologies for their own uses, the official said.

"The policy of the (Israeli) Ministry of Defense is to provide all data to the U.S., for the security of the U.S., including on targets, interceptors, radars and command and control," the official said.

With Congress also lavishing cash on Iron Dome, some U.S. lawmakers have called on Israel to share that system, too.

The Israeli official said that though Iron Dome was different to Arrow as it was developed entirely by Israel, the current policy was to provide the Americans data upon request while a more permanent arrangement is negotiated.

In parallel to Arrow II, Israel is developing Arrow III, which is due to be operational in 2014 or 2015. Unlike previous generations of the interceptor, Arrow III will engage incoming missiles in space, using detachable warheads that, turning into "kamikaze" satellites, will seek out and slam into the target.

Israel is also working on a more powerful rocket interceptor than Iron Dome, known as David's Sling or Magic Wand, which is due out next year. Meshed together and with U.S. counterparts, the three Israeli systems would form a multi-tier shield providing several opportunities to intercept incoming missiles.

(Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Anthony Boadle)

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When I hauled myself aboard the Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyer the other day, one of the first things I was shown was the ship's 5-inch, 127mm gun.

"This is how the Barry pays its bills," the ensign showing me around said.

What she meant was that even though the Barry carries an array of missiles including Tomahawks, SM-2s, and SM-3s, among others — the 5-inch is the weapon of choice when engaging any surface, air, or shore targets.

Loaded with an assortment of devastating rounds, the gun can pound out its 20-projectile magazine in about a minute while maintaining pinpoint accuracy via its computerized targeting.

The crew of the USS Barry allowed me to poke around into all aspects of what makes the 5-inch weapon tick, from deep in the ship's magazine, to the firing room, to on deck when the weapon was fired.

All that happens to make this gun so devastating may surprise you.

The 5-Inch Light Weight Gun Mount is the Navy's main anti-surface gun

The 5-inch is more economical than a guided missile and extremely accurate to about 15 miles away

In a time of conflict the order to fire the gun comes from here — the bridge of the USS Barry — but getting the weapon to fire and making sure it hits the target requires cooperation from people all over the ship

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A spectacular U.S. Army missile test in New Mexico Thursday (Sept. 13) lit up the predawn sky over the southwestern United States, triggering a flood of frantic UFO reports and hundreds of calls to military officials from as far away as Denver and Los Angeles.

The amazing night sky sight was created by the launch of an Army Juno missile early Thursday from Fort Wingate in New Mexico, which soared high into the atmosphere on its way to the White Sands Missile Range to be intercepted by a Patriot missile. The unarmed Juno rocket flew so high that its long contrail reflected sunlight from the yet-to-rise sun, sparking a dazzling night sky light show.

"We kind of hope folks enjoy the light show we put on over the western U.S.," White Sands Missile Range spokeswoman Monte Marlin told SPACE.com.

Marlin said her office received more than 100 calls and a flood of emails from observers who saw the Juno rocket's contrail from states across the Southwest. According to the Associated Press, the missile test led to widespread reports from people who regarded the shiny rocket exhaust as a UFO sighting in the sky.

Marlin said she received calls from as far away as Denver, Salt Lake City in Utah, Las Vegas and Los Angeles reporting the sighting.

"Conditions were just right for it to be seen from far away," Marlin said, adding that the view was caused when the Juno missile's exhaust froze in the upper atmosphere. "When it freezes, those little ice crystals act like prisms to reflect sunlight. It creates that amazing light show."

Because the contrail crossed several layers of the Earth's atmosphere, it was sculpted by high altitude winds, perhaps surprising observers used to seeing the straight-line contrails from airplanes, she added.

In Scottsdale, Ariz., observer Ryan Eiger was walking his dogs before sunrise and snapped a photo of the Juno missile contrail shining with the moon and Venus.

"I looked up quickly noticing the contrail in the east. I ran and got my iPhone and it happened to be just north of both the moon and Venus," Eiger said in an email. "The contrail was amazing. It sort of resembled a cloud except for the very colorful tail it had."

The wispy, but still bright, Juno contrail was also photographed by Linda and Dick Buscher of Anthem, Ariz., just outside of Phoenix, who also sent their photos into SPACE.com.

Marlin said Thursday's missile launch was the 14th test of its kind since 1998. Sometimes the Juno contrails have been spotted from far-off locales, and other times not. Prior to Thursday's launch, the furthest reports from observers came from Phoenix and Colorado, she said.

"It was fun, the number of calls that we received yesterday," Marlin said. "They were mostly incredulous, like 'That was so cool!'"

You can follow SPACE.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik and SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook & Google+. 

• UFO Quiz: What's Really Out There?
• Photo: Spectacular Military Missile Launches
• 7 Things Most Often Mistaken for UFOs

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Iran has test-fired four missiles in the Persian Gulf, according to an Iranian news agency.

The report quoted General Ali Fadavi of the Revolutionary Guard as saying the missiles were fired simultaneously at a sea target as large as a warship and sank it within 50 seconds.

Fadavi "stressed Iran's missile capability, and noted that Iran's missile systems can reach the entire Persian Gulf coastline and beyond where the US bases are," according to Fars.

This is an escalation of Iran's counter drills in the Gulf, held at the same time as international naval exercises.

While the US-led fleet practices minesweeping, the Iranians have practiced mining.

Step aboard the US ship leading the international fleet >

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Far from being just a political storm in the Caribbean, the Cuban missile crisis came dangerously close to triggering a nuclear war between two superpowers, the US and the Soviet Union – both nations having stockpiled enough missiles that a conflict between them would have destroyed much of the planet.

The deadly standoff came about mainly because Cuba, under Fidel Castro, had lurched towards communism in 1959. Desperate to beat back the 'cancer' of socialism from its doorstep, the US aided a military task force to overthrow Castro, which landed south of Havana at the Bay of Pigs in 1961.

The rebels were easily put down by a well-armed Cuban army that had strong links with the Soviet Union.

Knowing that the Soviets were eager to prop up fellow communist regimes, the US remained watchful of the Kremlin's relationship with Castro. In 1962, tensions grew as American spy planes provided evidence that Soviet missiles were being shipped to Cuba. Knowing that Soviet ballistic missiles on Cuban soil were capable of striking the US's eastern seaboard within a few minutes of being launched, President John F Kennedy warned US citizens they might once again have to pay "the price for freedom", as conflict, this time with the Soviet Union, could not be ruled out.

Washington's hawkish stance did not receive the backing from her allies that Kennedy had hoped for, though support eventually came, notable from the British government.

Kennedy pulled back from his initial plan to invade Cuba, deciding instead to deploy US navy ships, including aircraft carriers, to enforce a "quarantine", or blockade, on Cuba to prevent more "offensive weapons" being shipped in. Kennedy also called upon his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, to "halt and eliminate this clandestine, reckless, and provocative threat to world peace".

In an unbearably tense showdown, a flotilla of Soviet ships, which were already on their way to Cuba, kept their course despite stern warnings from the US. As the world held its breath, the Soviet ships edged ever closer to their destination only to receive instructions from Moscow to turn back, so averting a confrontation with the US.

Days later, the deadly game of nuclear brinkmanship between the two nations ended, Khrushchev sent Kennedy a message that Soviet missiles would be taken back. In return, Kennedy committed the US never to invade Cuba.

Kennedy also secretly promised to withdraw US nuclear-armed missiles located in Turkey.

Cuba's Fidel Castro was left frustrated by the Soviets' retreat but realized he was effectively excluded from the negotiations.

With a catastrophic war averted, a hotline between the US and Soviet Union was set up to prevent such a crisis happening again.

This article originally appeared on guardian.co.uk

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Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Thursday he considered a Syrian attack on Turkey unlikely because that would be "madness", as Ankara asked NATO to deploy surface-to-air missiles along their volatile border.

"I honestly think that a direct threat against Turkey by Syria is unlikely because that would be madness," Gul said, quoted by the Anatolia news agency.

He spoke a day after a team of NATO experts began a survey of sites near the Syrian border that would serve as suitable locations for the deployment of US-made Patriot missiles.

Gul said the deployment would be for defensive purposes only, calling it a "precautionary measure" to minimise any dangers emanating from Syria.

"An attack (by Turkey on Syria) is out of the question," he added.

Turkey turned to its NATO allies and placed an official request for the deployment of Patriot missiles after a series of cross-border shellings, including an attack that left five civilians dead last month.

NATO has yet to formally respond to the request.

But the Syrian regime's allies Russia and Iran are deeply opposed to the move, fearing such a deployment could spark broader conflict.

The Patriots could be deployed in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir or Sanliurfa or Malatya in the east, which already hosts an early warning radar as part of NATO's missile defence system.

Turkey might receive up to six Patriot batteries and some 300 foreign troops to operate the system, which is expected to be supplied by The Netherlands or Germany, the two European providers of the US-made weapons.

Ankara has been strengthening its defences along the border with anti-aircraft batteries and tanks since June 22, when one of its F4 fighter jets was downed by Syria along with two pilots for a brief violation of Syrian airspace.

Last month, Syrian shells fired across the border killed five Turkish civilians including three children, prompting border units to retaliate against every shell to land in Turkey's territory.

After both incidents, Ankara asked the NATO military alliance to take measures to protect its border and contain the Syrian conflict, which has killed more than 40,000 people in 20 months and sent more than 120,000 refugees into Turkey.

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Russia is categorically opposed to the Turkey’s installation of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles along its border with Syria.

Most have assumed that the Moscow's opposition was driven by its friendship with embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

But Russian military experts tell Kommersant that Moscow is actually concerned that the missiles will be used in military action against Iran.

In spite of the fact that the planned location of the missiles is relatively far from the Iranian border, they could be easily deployed to any place in Turkey, and be used against Iranian rockets.

The experts Kommersant spoke with said that having the Patriot missiles in Turkey seriously increases the risk of armed conflict with Iran, which would not be able to strike back if the Patriot missiles are deployed. 

“Turkey has explained its request to NATO to put the Patriot missiles on its border with Syria as exclusively related to its need to defend itself from a possible attack from the Syrian army.

"But according to our information, there could be a second motivation for this actions, which is a preparation for military action against Iran,” said one diplomatic source in Moscow. 

Russia has reacted extremely negatively to Turkey’s plans to install the Patriot missiles. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that this “increases the risk of military conflict,” and evoked Chekhov’s gun syndrome: if there is a gun on the stage in the first act, then it will be shot in the third act.

Western countries have reacted extremely skeptically to Russia’s concern. NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen called it “baseless,” and Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey’s self-defense plans was none of Russia’s business.

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The great thing about eBay is that it has a little bit of everything, but this De Haviland Firestreak missile may be a first.

The De Haviland was employed for 31 years by the UK, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia from 1957 to 1988 and was the first of its kind for the Royal Air Force.

The Firestreak used the aircraft's radar to lock onto a target and the state-of-the-art technology provided the first effective British air-to-air missile ever. It could only be fired under clear skies, with no cloud cover, but was still a special weapon to the UK that only installed them on select fighters.

Ebay has a pretty extensive weapons and military gear policy, and the De Haviland seems like it would fall in the following guidelines of restricted items:

Military ordnance such as weapons, ammunition, and their related parts—even if the items are considered demilitarized, demilled, rendered inert, or unserviceable. We can't confirm whether an item has been changed in such a way that makes it safe and legal to sell or transport.

The listing says the Firestreak has been disassembled and its explosives and fuel removed, which is a good thing for more than one reason.

The Magpie motor used a toxic fuel that required handlers to wear chemical and radiation suits for protection.

Missile bidding starts at £800.00 or about thirteen-hundred bucks, may be picked up in the United Kingdom and it's up for auction another five days.

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Right at the end of 2012 we reported on a laser beam missile defense system Lockheed developed that would make Israel's Iron Dome look wimpy.

It turns out, German company Rheinmetall concurrently produced a system quite like Lockheed's ADAM — one which can accurately target an 85 centimeter thick ball bearing, traveling 50 meters per second, and sear it out of the sky.

Perhaps the most terrifyingly cool bit of information out of the company's press brief (released in mid-December and largely unreported in American media) is this tidbit: Several experts gathered to witness as "a massive, 15mm-thick [.6 inches] steel girder was cut through at a distance of 1,000 metres [3,000 feet, about .6 of a mile]."

Wow.

Both of these systems, Germany's and Lockheed's, are part of a large push to develop missile/mortar defense systems that don't use ballistics as a primary means of execution. Ballistics, as we've all learned over the years, are not only incredibly difficult to produce, expensive and relatively inaccurate — but also they can only be used once.

Rheinmetall's lasers use something called Beam Superimposing Technology (BST), which overlaps beams in order "to irradiate a single target in a superimposed, cumulative manner."

The efforts of military developers worldwide can, in a way, trace their roots back to Ronald Reagan's oft-joked about Star Wars missile defense program. Though these lasers aren't quite like what Luke Skywalker dodged in George Lucas's 70s film — first of all they're invisible — they have proven effective at removing drones from the sky.

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New satellite images reveal ongoing activity at North Korea's atomic test site, according to a US research institute, as expectation mounts of an imminent nuclear detonation by the isolated state.

The images, as recent as January 23, suggest the facility would be ready to conduct a test "in a few weeks or less" once the order is given, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University posted on its 38 North website on Sunday.

"Snowfall and subsequent clearing operations as well as tracks in the snow reveal ongoing activity at buildings and on roadways near the possible test tunnel," it said.

The institute's analysis followed a series of daily threats from North Korea that it is preparing its third nuclear test in response to UN sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for a long-range rocket launch in December.

In a meeting with top security officials, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered "substantial and high-profile important state measures," fueling speculation of an imminent detonation.

Military chief Hyon Yong-Chol, the head of the army's politburo Choe Ryong-Hae and spy chief Kim Won-Hong attended the meeting, state television reported on Sunday.

Last week's UN resolution imposing sanctions threatened further "significant action" if Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test.

The North's two previous detonations in 2006 and 2009 followed a similar pattern of a missile launch, followed by UN measures, followed by a nuclear test.

US warnings about the consequences of a third test have been backed by unusually strident criticism of Pyongyang by its sole major ally China.

Last week, a state-run newspaper close to China's ruling Communist Party, said in an editorial that Beijing would "not hesitate" to reduce aid to North Korea if it went ahead.

China has been the primary benefactor of Pyongyang since the 1950-1953 Korean War, providing critical diplomatic and economic support.

Source: AFP

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