Iran and North Korea have formed an information-sharing "coalition" aimed at bolstering their respective ballistic missile capabilities, the officer who leads the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said yesterday (see GSN, June 10).
"It really is an international effort going on out there to develop ballistic missile capability between these countries," Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly said, according to Reuters.
The nations trade technical information on avionics, propulsion systems and other missile components, according to O'Reilly. "We've seen it for years and it continues," he said during an event on Capitol Hill.
Iran and North Korea have attained the expertise to successfully launch two-stage missiles with a stable ignition, marking "a significant step forward" for both nations, O'Reilly said (see GSN, June 9).
The nations are in something of a "horse race" to advance their missile capabilities and neither was clearly ahead, he added (Jim Wolf, Reuters, June 11).