Soviet Union/Russia

United States

April-August: Russian specialists travel to Germany in search for Nazi missile technology.

Aug. 20: The Soviet government creates the 1st Special Committee to oversee the Soviet nuclear program.

September: Helmut Gröttrup, a leading Peenemünde scientist, joins Soviet effort to restore the production of German A-4 missiles.

November-December: Rocket development bureau is formed at Plant No. 88 in Podliki, near Moscow.

Dec. 25: Soviet scientists achieve their first nuclear chain reaction.

A team of top German ballistic missile engineers led by Wernher Von Braun surrenders to the US army occupying Germany. They eventually create a core of the missile development team at Redstone Arsenal in Hunstville, Ala.

July 16: The first nuclear device code-named "Gadget" is exploded at the "Trinity" test site in New Mexico.

April 9: The Soviet government officially approves the development of an atomic bomb.

May 13: The Soviet government launches a wide-scale missile development program based on the German technology.

Aug. 9: Sergei Korolev is appointed chief designer of the long-range ballistic missile development.

Oct. 22: Soviet authorities send dozens of German rocket engineers to the USSR.

March 5: Speaking at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declares the "Iron Curtain" descended across Europe.

April 19: Consolidated Vultee initiates the MX-774 project (precursor of Atlas ICBM).

May 10: The first A-4 missile liffts off from White Sands, NM, reaching an altitude of 112 kilometers.

July 1: An atomic bomb is tested at Bikini Atoll on Marshall Islands in the Pacific.

July 9: An A-4 missile flies from White Sands, NM, reaching an altitude of 83.5 miles in a 400.5-second flight. It falls 63 miles north of the launch site.

Sept. 17: An experimental solid-propellant stage for the Nike-Ajax anti-aircraft missile flies its test mission from White Sands, New Mexico.

January: N-2-88 initiates studies of the R-3 missile with the range of 3,000 kilometers.

Sept. 25: N-2-88 conducts an official scientific review of the G-1 project proposed by the team of German engineers.

Oct. 18: The first German A-4 rocket is launched from Kapustin Yar.

The Soviet industry picks the site for a rocket engine testing stand in Khimki near Moscow.

June: The program of a long-range ballistic missile (MX-774) is canceled as "not promising."

September 6: US Navy aircraft carrier USS Midway launches German-built A-4 rocket as part of Operation Sandy, testing ship-based missiles.

Oct. 9: The 27th A-4 missile is launched from White Sands, New Mexico.

April 14: The Soviet government approves the development of the R-1, a Soviet copy of German A-4 rocket.

May 24: The rocket engine test facility No. 1 in Khimki near Moscow conducts its first live firing of a rocket engine.

Sept. 17: The R-1 is launched for the first time.

Oct. 10: The first successful launch of the R-1 missile.

July 1: Consolidated Vultee attempts to launch first MX-774 test missile. It fails after one minute in flight.

Sept. 27: MX-774 experimental missile reaches 40 miles in altitude before its malfunction.

Dec. 2: MX-774 experimental missile fails during its third test flight.

February: USSR succeeds in the production of the military-grade plutonium.

Summer: The KB-11 (Arzamas-16) design bureau completes the development of the atomic bomb.

Aug. 29: The USSR detonates its first nuclear device at a test site near Semipalatinsk.

Sept. 21: The first R-2E ballistic missile is launched.

January: The USS Northon Sound launches the Loon, the first US experimental cruise missile converted from the German V-1.

Feb. 24: The Bumper-5 rocket reaches altitude of 393 kilometers (244 miles).

May 11: President Harry Truman signs legislation establishing the Joint Long Range Proving Ground at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

April 26: Sergei Korolev officially becomes a chief designer of OKB-1, the developer of the Soviet long-range ballistic missiles.

Nov. 25: The R-1 rocket is accepted into the armaments of the Soviet Army.

July: The first rocket (German A-4 with WAC "Bumper" second stage) blasts off from Cape Canaveral.

The US Navy started development of a "Big Stoop" submarine-launched missile.

Myasishev and Tupolev initiate the devlopment of M-4 and Tu-95 strategic bombers.

June 1, Nov. 30: Soviet government orders mass production of R-1 and R-2 missiles, respectively.

Nov. 27: The R-2 missile is accepted into the armaments of the Soviet Army.

Jan. 23: US Government awards contract to Convair to develop MX-1593 (Atlas) ICBM.

Aug. 8 - Sept. 18: USSR conducts qualification test flights of the R-2 ballistic missile.

Nov. 28: Plant No. 586 in Dnepropetrovsk starts mass production of R-1 missiles.

Oct. 1: A Rascal research rocket flies its first test mission from Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico.

Feb. 13: The Soviet government approves preliminary studies of the R-7 ICBM.

March 15: The first launch of the R-5 missile.

April 18: The first launch of the R-11 missile.

Jan. 21: The first launch of the R-5M missile.

Feb. 12: The government decrees the development of the N-2P-5 test range near Tyuratam (Baikonur Cosmodrome).

May 7: The S-25 Berkut anti-aircraft rocket system declared operational in two rings around Moscow.

Aug. 25: The government decree approves the development of the R-13 ballistic missiles for submarines.

Sept. 16: The first launch of the R-11FM missile from a Soviet submarine.

Jan. 14: The US Air Force awards a contract to Convair to develop Atlas ICBM.

Sept. 13: President Eisenhower approves the development of a submarine-launched IRBM.

Oct. 27: US Air Force awarded Martin company to develop SM-68 Titan ICBM.

Nov. 8: Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson approves the development of Thor and Jupiter IRBMs.

The US Air Force begins development of a nuclear-propelled upper stage for an ICBM within the Rover project.

Myasishev M-4 strategic bomber enters operational service.

Feb. 2: The R-5M missile flies an experimental mission with a live nuclear warhead.

June 21: The Soviet Army accepts R-5M nuclear-tipped missile into armaments

The Aerobee-Hi AGUL-0113C rocket reaches the altitude of 264 kilometers (164 miles).

Jan. 25: Thor IRBM fails during launch attempt, destroying its launch pad.

March: The first Jupiter IRBM flies an (unsuccesful) test mission from Cape Canaveral.

May 31: Jupiter IRBM flies a first successful mission, covering 1,500 miles.

June 11: The Atlas A rocket flies its first test mission. It failed 22 seconds after launch.

Sept. 20: Thor IRBM flies its first successful mission, covering 1,100 miles.

Sept. 25: The second test flight of the Atlas A ICBM is termininated after around three minutes.

Oct. 31: A prototype of a Snark cruise missile flies its first successful full-range flight test from Cape Canaveral, Fl., to a distance of 5,000 miles with its reentry vehicle landing in the target area near Ascension Island.

Dec. 17: Atlas ICBM flies its first successful mission.

Jan. 2: The Soviet government issues a decree approving serial production of the R-7 missile in Kuibyshev (Samara).

March 20: The Soviet government issues a decree approving the development of the D-4 submarine system equipped with R-21 ballistic missiles.

April: Chief designers of the Soviet rocket industry propose the development of the R-9 ICBM.

April: The Soviet government approves the development of the R-17 ballistic missile.

June 30: The Soviet government approves the development of a rocket with a nuclear engine.

July 2: The Soviet government approves the development of the R-14 IRBM.

Dec. 24: The R-7A ICBM flies its first test mission.

Jan. 11: A prototype of Polaris A-1 submarine-launched missile flew its first mission from Point Mugu, CA.

Jan. 31: Jupiter rocket launches Explorer-1, the first US satellite.

Feb. 8: An Atlas rocket failed in flight after its liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

Feb. 27: The Air Force initiates missile "Q" program, envisioning first ever solid-propellant ICBM (later Minuteman).

April 5: An Atlas rocket flies its 7th test mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

June 24: A Redstone missile makes a test flight from Cape Canaveral.

Sept. 7: A British-built Black Knight rocket launches from Woomera, Australia.

Sept. 14: A test launch of the Atlas ballistic missile.

Oct. 9: Boeing Aircraft is selected as a prime-contractor for the SM-80 Minuteman program.

Nov. 18: Last Navaho missile equipped with a ramjet engine is launched.

Dec. 16-17: US Air Force launches first Thor missile from the Pacific Test Range.

Dec. 20: First attempt to launch the Titan-1 ICBM from Cape Canaveral fails.

Dec. 23: First vehicle in the C series of the Atlas rocket with General Electric's Mod-3 inertial radio guidance flies a successful suborbital mission from Cape Canaveral, Fl.

March 4: The R-12 IRBM is accepted into the armaments of the Soviet Army.

May 13: The Soviet government approves parallel development of R-9 with cryogenic oxidizer and R-16 ICBMs, burning storable propellants.

Nov. 20: The Soviet government approves the development of the RT-1 IRBM.

Dec. 17: The Soviet government forms Strategic Missile Forces.

Feb. 3: Launch of the Titan-1 missile scrubbed at ignition.

Feb. 6: A Titan-1 (HGM-25A) intercontinental ballistic missile flies its first successful test mission.

May 28: The first primates (Able and Baker) complete a suborbital flight onboard Jupiter ballistic missile.

June 7: A fire breaks out on one of the Bomarc anti-aircraft missiles deployed at McGuire air force base in New Jersey. The blaze melted the rocket's 10-kiloton W4 nuclear warhead causing contamination of the soil with plutonium.

June 20: US Air Force awards the Martin company contract to develop Titan-2 ICBM, burning storable propellants.

May 1: CIA loses a U-2 spy plane over the USSR.

August: A Discoverer (Corona) satellite returns capsule from orbit.

July 25: a Titan-1 missile completes its first full-range flight test with an all-internal guidance system, following its launch from Cape Canaveral.

Nov. 22: An Atlas-4F ICBM flies from Site 11 facility at Cape Canaveral.

Minuteman-1 ICBM flies its first mission from Site 31A at Cape Canaveral, Fl.

R-14 missiles deployed in Latvia and Ukraine.

March 24: The R-17 IRBM of the 9K72 Elbrus on the 2P19 chassis complex is adopted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

April 28: The RT-1 IRBM flies its first test mission.

June 12: The Soviet government approves the development of the R-36 ICBM and cancels development of R-26.

Oct. 22 - Nov. 21: The Cuban missile crisis

Jan. 5: Minuteman-1A missile lifts off from Site 31B at Cape Canaveral.

March 23: President Kennedy tours Vandenberg air force base where he witnesses a test launch of an Atlas ICBM.

May 6: The Ethan Allen (SSBN-08) becomes the first submarine to launch a live nuclear-tipped missile, whose warhead detonates at the Christmas Island test range.

July 8: A Thor missile launches the 1.45-megaton W49 warhead to an altitude of 248 miles over the Johnston Island where it is detonated in the Starfish Prime nuclear test.

Sept. 12 : Titan-2 ICBM flies its first test mission.

Oct. 27: The first Minuteman ICBM is put on alert at Malmstrom AFB, Montana at launch site A-06.

Nov. 27: First Titan-2 missile arrives at Davis Monthan AFB, Arizona.

May 24: US Air Force makes a decision to retire all Atlas-D ICBM by 1965 and Atlas-E by 1968.

January: R-12U and R-14U IRBMs are accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

October: Central Directorate of Space Assets is formed within Soviet Ministry of Defense.

Sept. 24: The first Minuteman-2 ICBM flies a successful test mission.

Jan. 14: R-36 ICBM is launched from silo for the first time.

May 9: During Victory celebration parade, the USSR demonstrates its first solid-fueled ICBM (RT-2).

December: R-36O FOBS missile flies its first test mission.

Jan. 4: First Atlas-E ICBMs taken off alert.

April 12: Last Atlas-F ICBM is retired from service.

April 15: Last Titan-1 ICBM is retired from service.

July 15: Boeing Aerospace receives a contract for development of Minuteman-3 ICBM.

Nov. 19: A Sprint anti-ballistic missile makes its first flight from a silo facility in White Sands, NM.

Dec. 6: Crew of the Gemini-7 spacecraft documents the submerged launch of a Polaris missile from the Benjamin Franklin submarine in the Atlantic Ocean.

Feb. 26: RT-2 ICBM flies its first test mission from Kapustin Yar.

June 25: French President Charles De Gaulle visits Baikonur Cosmodrome; watches launches of an ICBM, a launch vehicle.

Oct. 1: The Soyuz rocket delivers the first Yantar spy satellite.

March 30: A directive of the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Army establishes Rocket and Defense Forces, RKO, within the Anti-aircraft Defense Forces, PVO.

July 21: R-36, UR-100 ICBMs are accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

October: The first RT-20P mobile ICBM is launched from Plesetsk.

Oct. 27: The Tsyklon-2 rocket, designed to carry IS anti-satellite weapons, flies its first mission from Baikonur.

May 23: A solar storm jamms radar and radio communications, triggering concerns about an impending Soviet attack.

Nov. 19: R-36O FOBS missile is accepted into the armaments of the Soviet Army.

Dec. 18: The RT-2 ICBM is adopted in armaments of the Soviet Army.

Aug. 16: The first Minuteman-3 missile flies a successful test mission.

Aug. 18: The first Poseidon SLBM is launched from the surface pad at Cape Canaveral.

Sept. 2: Council of Ministers of the USSR approved the development of the R-36M missile.

Oct. 6: Soviet government cancels development of RT-20P ICBM.

Dec. 24: Satellite watching radar stations in Balkhash and Irkutsk are declared operational.

April 11: The Minuteman -2I missile blast off from the silo for the first time.

January: RT-2P ICBM flies its first test mission from Plesetsk.

March: The first unit armed with UR-100K missiles enters operational patrol near the town of Khmilnitskiy.

August: The Soviet anti-satellite complex hits a space target for the first time.

October: The R-36 missiles with MIRV warhead is accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

The USSR signs anti-missile defense treaty with the US.

Dec. 28: RT-2P and UR-100 K missiles are accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

The US signs anti-missile defense treaty with the USSR.

Feb. 21: The first R-36M missile blasts off from Baikonur.

Sept. 21: The Pioneer (SS-20) medium-range missile makes its first test flight.

R-16 missiles retired from service.

Feb. 15: The center for monitoring of space, TsKKP, declared operational.

Dec. 22: A Proton rocket launches a Raduga-1 communications satellite.

Dec. 30: R-36M and MR-UR-100 missiles accepted into armaments.

Aug. 16: The Soviet government approves the development of the MR-UR-100U missile.

Aug. 30: First Pioneer missiles are deployed near town of Petrikov, Gomel Oblast.

R-36M is accepted into the armaments.

R-16U missiles retire from service.

Dec. 22: The first Soviet solid-propellant missile (developed at KB Arsenal) lifts off from a submarine.

Sept. 25: MR-UR-100U flies its first test mission.

October: R-36M UTTKh flies its first test mission.

May 15: The anti-missile defence system around Moscow declared operational.

R-36 missiles retired from service.

R-36 missiles with MIRV warhead retired from service.

Feb. 15: The anti-satellite complex declared operational

Dec. 17: R-36M UTTKh and MR-UR-100 UTTKh missiles are formally accepted into armaments.

June 4: A failure of the microchip in a NORAD computer leads to a false warning about 2, then 220 and 2,200 incoming Soviet missiles and prompting US nuclear forces to shift to a higher alert level. The error was recognized in around three minutes.

June 6: Another failure of the NORAD early warning computer.

June: A mobile command center of the Strategic Missile Forces starts operational patrol.

November: Main Directorate of Space Assets is transferred from the Strategic Missile Forces to direct subordination to the Ministry of Defense.

March 23: President Reagan announces the Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI, aimed to develop multi-layered anti-missile defense shield for the US.

April 9: President Reagan approves the recommendation to develop Small ICBM (SICBM), aka Midgetman.

June 18: The first MX Peacekeeper ICBM flies its first test mission.

Oct. 21: Navy issues contract to Lockheed to develop Trident -2 (D-5).

Jan. 18: The first railroad-based RT-23 ICBM (version 15Zh52) flies a test mission from Plesetsk.

June 27 - July 5: During Zapad (West) 84 military exercise, a mobile ICBM unit conducts first ever river crossing over a temporary bridge.

Feb. 27: A modified RT-23 UTTKh railroad-based ICBM (version 15Zh61) was launched from Plesetsk for the first time.

July-December: KB Yuzhnoe studies a project of the Kopye-R highly-mobile ICBM.

Jan. 15: Trident -2 (D-5) missile flew its first test mission from the surface pad 46A at Cape Canaveral.

Oct. 22: The first SICBM (Midgetman) flies a test mission from Vandenberg AFB.

June: Last R-12 missiles decomissioned from service.

Oct. 19: Last nuclear test is conducted at Semipalatinsk site.

Nov. 28: RT-23UTTKh complex is accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

August: R-36M2 is accepted into armaments of the Soviet Army.

December: Perimeter RTs system with 15PO11 complex is accepted into armaments.

December: The Soviet Union officially dissolved in the aftermath of the communist coup attempt in Moscow in August 1991.

Dec. 20: Topol-M ICBM flies its first test mission from Plesetsk.

Dec. 26: Rockot (capable of carrying anti-satellite systems) flies a test mission.

Last RT-2P missiles retired from service.

April: Russia initiates implosions of 104 silo launch complexes in Kazakhstan for R-36M ICBMs.

Aug. 26: Russia completes withdrawl of strategic missile assets from the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

Dec. 26: Russia completes withdrawl of strategic missile assets from the former Soviet republic of Belarus.

June 16: Russian President Boris Yeltsin signs a decree merging Space and Missile Forces, VKS, and Space Defense Forces, RKO, with Strategic Missile Forces.

Nov. 19: The Bark submarine-launched missile failed and exploded during its third and last test flight.

Dec. 24: The first unit of Topol-M missiles is declared operational in Tatishevo.

2000

Feb. 16: The old Topol-type mobile ICBM flew a certification and test mission from Plesetsk.

June 5: A submerged submarine launched a ballistic missile duringan exercise.

July 20: The R-29RL (RSM-50) ballistic missile, also known as Volna launcher, carrying the solar-sailing spacecraft blasted off from the submerged nuclear sub.

Sept. 18: The long-range ballistic missile blasted off from the Podolsk submarine in the Sea of Okhotsk and successfully reached the target in the Barents Sea.

Oct. 18: Russia's Northern fleet conducted a training launch of a submarine-based ballistic missile.

July 12: A Russian strategic submarine, launched a ballistic missile carrying an inflatable reentry device.

Oct. 2 : Russia conducts test launch of the A-135 anti-missle defense system (51T6).

Oct. 12: Two submarines fired SLBMs, while Topol (RS-12M) ICBM flew a training mission from Plesetsk. The same day, Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers launched long-range cruise missiles.

Feb. 16 - 18: Russia staged a massive display of its rocket power -- as part of the Security-2004 war games. Scheduled on the eve of the March 14 presidential elections, multiple missile firings from the sea, air and land were intended to add points to the incumbent president Vladimir Putin.

Nov. 29: Russia conducts test launch of the A-135 antimissle defense system (53T6).

Dec. 24: Russia conducted a launch of the Topol-M ICBM from a mobile launcher, clearing the way for operational deployment of the system.

Jan. 26: Missile interceptor flew a test mission from Meck Island in the Kwajalein Island Atoll, for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program.

Dec. 13: The Boeing Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program team and the Missile Defense Agency emplaced the first GMD interceptor in its underground silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

Dec. 15: The US missile interceptor failed to blast off from Marshall Island after the target Polaris missile was launched from Kodiak Island, Alaska, in the $85 million test of the missile defense system.

Feb. 14: An interceptor missile failed to lift off from Marshall Islands due to the failure of the launch system, moments before a missile defense test.

Nov. 17: An interceptor missile fired from cruiser USS Lake Erie successfully destroyed the warhead of the incoming rocket about 100 miles (160 kilometers) above the Pacific. It was the first time a ship at sea has shot down a separated warhead.

Dec. 24: Japan joined the US missile defence programme. Prime Minister Junichuro Koizumi signed off a budget, allocating more than $25 million (£14.4m) for initial work.

MX Peacekeepr missiles are retired and their Mk-21 warheards moved to Minuteman-3 missiles.

Jan. 21, 11:00: Russia tested anti-missile at the Sary-Shagan test site

Jan 31: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov announced that Russia would build an AMD facility in the south of the country.

July 4: North Korea launched several missiles, one of them long-range Taepodong-2 long range missile, which failed 30-50 seconds after liftoff.

Dec. 5: Russia flight-tested the A-135 (53T6) antimissile at the Sary-Shagan range

May 29: An ICBM capable of carrying multiple warheads and identified as RS-24 flew a test mission from Plesetsk.

May 29: The first 9M728 cruise missile is launched from a mobile Iskander-M launcher in Kapustin Yar.

July: The Sineva submarine-based missile is accepted into the armaments of the Russian navy, according to Roskosmos.

Oct. 11: Russia flight-tested a short-range antimissile at the Sary-Shagan range.

Oct. 30: Russia flight-tested a short-range antimissile at the Sary-Shagan range.

January: China conducted an anti-missile intercept test.

2010

Feb. 1: A missile interceptor launched from Vandenberg AFB missed a target missile launched from a Pacific island due to radar problems.

April 4: The Antei-2500 system successfully intercepts a target cruise missile during test in Kapustin Yar.

Oct. 16, 12:01 Moscow Time: The 53T6 missile-interceptor from the A-135 system flies a successful test mission from the Sary Shagan site.

June 9, 11:32 Moscow Time: Russian space defense forces fired anti-missile system from Sary Shagan test range.

US intelligence leaks reports alleging tests of Russia's Nudol anti-satellite missile.

June 21, 07:00 Moscow Time: Russia conducts test launch of a short-range anti-missile system at Sary Shagan test site.

Aug. 23: North Korea fires a KN-11 ballistic missile from a submerged submarine near Sinpo at a distance of around 500 kilometers with a warhead impact into the Sea of Japan.

Nov. 24: Russia launches an antimissile rocket, officially identified as a modernized interceptor, which is believed to be an upgrade of a 53T6 (Gazelle) missile, from Sary Shagan test range. According to Russian aerospace forces, it successfully intercepts a mockup target.

Nov. 28: North Korea launches its largest missile, Hwasong-15, to an altitude of 4,500 kilometers and a distance of 1,000 kilometers.

Feb. 6: China announces the success of a mid-course land-based mission interecept.

Feb. 12: Russia announces a successful test launch of a "modernized" anti-missile missile from Sary Shagan.

March: Russian president Vladimir Putin annouces the development of a ground-based laser system for the Russian space forces.

April 2: Russia successfully tests the modernized 53T6M inerceptor at Sary Shagan.

Aug. 30: The Russian Ministry of Defense announces a successful test of the anti-ICBM missile in Sary Shagan.

February: US announces a failure of the SM-3 Block-2A missile intercept test.

Feb. 6, 8.30 a.m. IST: Indian strategic forces successfully test fired indigenously developed nuclear capable Agni-I (A) ballistic missile from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.

Feb. 19: Israel conducts a successful test launch of the Arrow-3 anti-missile system.

Feb. 6, 11:31 Moscow Time: A Yars (RS-24) ballistic missile launches on a training mission from a mobile launcher in Plesetsk to the Kura impact site on the Kamchatka Peninnsula.

June 4: Russia test-fires an anti-missile system in Sary Shagan, Kazakhstan.

July 2: Russia test-fires the 53T6M anti-missile rocket in Sary Shagan, Kazakhstan.

Feb. 6, 07:01 GMT: The US Air Force launches a Minuteman-3 missile from Vandenberg AFB toward an impact area in the Pacific Ocean northeast of Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The missile tested a new fuze for the Mk 21 reentry vehicle.

March 25, 17:30 GMT: Two GBI interceptors lift off from North Vandenberg, Cal. performing the successful FTG-11 anti-missile defense test, intercepting a missile launched from Kwajalein atoll in the Pacific.

Oct. 28: Russia conducts test launch of a 53T6M anti-missile interceptor at Sary Shagan.

Nov. 26: Russia conducts test launch of a 53T6M anti-missile interceptor at Sary Shagan.

November: The Admiral Gorshkov fregat stationed in the White Sea conducts a test launch of a Tsirkon cruise missile toward Barents Sea.

Dec. 9: Russia conducts strategic exercise launching an ICBM, a SLBM and aircraft-based cruise missiles.

Dec. 16: Russia fires a direct ascent anti-satellite rocket system, the US Space Command says.

Feb. 5: A Minuteman-3 missile flies a test mission.

Aug. 4, 12:21 a.m. PST: A Minuteman-3 missile with three unarmed reentry vehicles flies a test mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base to Kwajalain Atoll.

Aug. 12: Israel test-fires the Arrow anti-missile system.

Sept. 2, 12:03 a.m. PST: US Air Force conducts a test launch of a Minuteman-3 missile from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

Nov. 16: A US Navy's John Finn destroyer stationed northeast of Hawaii fires an SM-3 Block-2A vehicle from the Aegis missile defense system successfully intercepting a ballistic missile launched from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

Dec. 10: USS Chafee (DDG-90) fires Tomahawk Block-5 cruise missile in the first operational test of a variant.

Feb. 4: China conducts a mid-course anti-ballistic missile test.

April 26: Russia conduts another test of a new anti-missile rocket system at Sary Shagan test range in Kazakhstan.

August: A Chinese hyper-sonic missile circumnavigates the world in orbit. The gliding warhead misses its target by around 33 kilometers, according to US intelligence sources.

Sept. 15: North Korea demonstrates railway-launched ballistic missile.

Sept. 17: Russia tests a 53T6M interceptor.

Oct. 19: North Korea fires a submarine-launched ballistic missile off the Eastern coast of the country near Sinpo, in direction of the East Sea.

Feb. 9: US launches a Trident-2D5 LE submarine ballistic missile over the Atlantic Ocean.

Feb. 23, 11:49 p.m. PST: Air Force Global Strike Command launches an unarmed Minuteman-3 ICBM equipped with a test reentry vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Ca.

April: A test of a US hypersonic missile fails.

May 29: US Missile Defense Agency fires a "medium-range target" rocket near Hawaii, but the launch of two SM-6 ship-based interceptors from the Aegis system, which had to intercept it, apparently fails.

Sept. 13, 10:30 a.m. PDT: An interceptor missile of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system flies a test mission from a silo at Vandenberg AFB.

Sept. 17: The USS Wyoming submarine, SSBN-47, launches a pair of Trident-2 life-extension missiles, D5LE, during the Demonstration and Shakedown Operation, DASO-31, off the coast of Florida.

Oct. 13: A Precision Strike Missile conducts a test flight from Vandenberg AFB.

Oct. 21: A booster rocket failure prevents a test flight of a hypersonic vehicle from Kodiak, Alaska.

Dec. 18, 05:36 UTC: India launches an Agni-P ballistic missile from Kalam Island to the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.

Feb. 19: Russia conducts multiple missile launches, including ICBM, SLBM and aircraft-bases, as part of strategic forces exercise coinciding with mass deployment of Russian forces around Ukraine.

Feb. 24: Russia escalates its aggression against Ukraine including indiscriminate use of missiles and rocket artillery against urban centers and industrial infrastructure, resulting in mass casualties and wide-spread destruction.

March 24: North Korea launches a modified version of the Hwasong-15 mobile ballistic missile.

April 20: Russia conducts a test launch of the Sarmat ICBM.

May 4: North Korea launches a ballistic missile from Sunan to an altitude of 780 kilometers and a range of 470 kilometers.

Oct. 3: North Korea launches Hwasong-12 missile to an altitude of 970 kilometers and a range of 4,600 kilometers.

Nov. 18: North Korea conducts a test flight of the Hwasong-17 ICBM.

Dec. 20: China launches a missile from Jiuquan launch site toward its anti-missile test range at Urumqi.

Early 2022: The US cancels planned test of a Minuteman-3 ICBM as a gesture to Russia to reduce tensions.

May 14: A US B-52H bomber released an AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, ARRW, off the Southern Califronia coast. The separated vehicle then achieved Mach 5 velocity using its own propulsion.

June: US launches four Trident-2 D-5 missiles from a submarine in the Pacific.

June 30: An All-Up-Round test of the Common Hypersonic Glide Body on a two-stage booster vehicle fails at Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii.

End of June: DARPA successfully tests Operatinal Fires, OpFires, hypersonic missile at sub-sonic speed.

July 6: A Minotaur-2 rocket with the Mk21A reentry test vehicle explodes 11 seconds after liftoff at 9:01 p.m. PDT from TP-01 site at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

July 12: The AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, ARRW, flies a second consecutive successful test.

Aug. 22: US Air Forces conducts a test launch of a Minuteman-3 ICBM.

Sept. 7: The US Air Force launches a Minuteman-3 ICBM with three reentry vehicles from the LF10 silo in Vandenberg AFB, Calif., toward Kwajalein impact range in the Marshall Isl.

Oct. 18: Turkey test-fires an indigenously developed short-range ballistic missile over Black Sea.

Dec. 15: India launches Agni-5 ICBM from Wheeler Isl. Odisha over the Bay of Bengal.

Feb. 18: North Korea launches a Hwasong-15 ICBM on a ballistic trajectory reaching an altitude of 5,768.5 kilometers and a range of 989 kilometers during a 67-minute flight.

March 12: North Korea launches two submarine-based cruise missiles to a distance of around 1,500 kilometers.

March 16: North Korea launches a presumed Hwasong-15 ICBM to an altitude of around 6,000 kilometers, a range of 1,000 kilometers, trajectory inclination of 41 degrees.

March 19: North Korea launches a solid-propellant missile from a silo at the Sohae launch site.

April 13: North Korea launches an ICBM on a high-altitude trajectory over the Sea of Japan.

April 14: North Korea launches new solid-propellant ICBM Hwasong-18.

July 12: North Korea launches a Hwasong-18 solid-propellant ICBM on a 74-minute flight, longest for the country's military rocket.

Oct. 23-25: Russia launches Yars ICBM from Plesetsk and a Sineva ballistic missile from a nuclear-powered submarine during a strategic forces exercise.

Feb. 10, 07:01 UTC: The US Air Force launches a Minuteman-3 ICBM with a single reentry vehicle from Vandenberg AFB's silo LF10 toward the Kwajalein Atoll.

March 5: US military scrubs launch of a hypersonic missile from Cape Canaveral.

March 13: The US attempts the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, ARRW, test flight from Vandenberg AFB.

April 19: The US Air Force launches a Minuteman-3 missile from LF09 silo at Vandenberg, California, on a test flight with a dummy warhead targeting an impact area at the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

April 19: France's Le Terrible submarine launches the M51 ballistic missile on a test flight across the Atlantic.

June 26, 20:00 UTC: France's La Direction Generale de l'Armament, DGA, conducts a suborbital test launch of the VMax hypersonic glider from the Landes range on the shore of the Bay of Biscaye.

June 30: India launches the K-15 SLBM from a land test range.

Sept. 6: A Minuteman-3 ICBM flies from Vandenberg AFB toward Kwajalein.

Oct. 30: Israel's Arrow-2 system performed its first battlefield intercept, destroying a ballistic missile launched from Yemen.

Nov. 1: A Minuteman-3 ICBM launches a test mission from Vandenberg, AFB, but fails, apparently during the operation of the 3rd stage.

Nov. 9: Israel's Arrow-3 system intercepts a ballistic missile for the first time.

Nov. 18: France launches M51.3, a new version of its SLBM with improved capabilities against missile defense systems, from Biscarosse.

Dec. 11, 14:30 UTC: A US Air Force C-17 transport plane launches an intermediate range missile on a suborbital trajectory over the Pacific, which is intercepted by a GBI missile launched from Vandenberg AFB.

June 25: North Korea fires a suspected hypersonic missile test which fails at a range of around 250 kilometers downrange, but North Korea claims a successful test of multiple warheards.

Around Sept. 19-21: Russia's Sarmat ICBM explodes at launch site in Plesetsk.

Sept. 25: China conducts launch of an DF-31 intercontinental ballistic missile from the Hainan Island targeting Central Pacific Ocean around 11,700 kilometers away.

Oct. 31: North Korea launches an ICBM to an altitude of around 7,000 kilometers and a range of 1,000 kilometers.

Nov. 21: Russia fires a 15Zh67 Rubezh (a.k.a. Oreshnik) medium or intermediate-range ballistic missile with multiple warheads from Kapustin Yar against Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Jan. 30: A Trident-2 D5 missile fails during a launch attempt from HMS Vanguard due to first stage failing to ignite.

March 11: India launches Agni-5 IRBM testing technology for Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicles, MIRV.

March 28: USS Preble fires SM-6 anti-missile which intercepts the MRBM-T3s2 target rocket launched from Kauai.

June 3, -6: US Air Force launches two Minuteman-3 ICBMs with single warheads from Vandenberg AFB to Kwajelein Atoll.

June 12: A suborbital rocket lifts off from Wallops Island on a mission for the US Deaprtment of Defense.

Nov. 22: US conducts a successful test of a SM-3 Block-2A interceptor missile against a ballistic missile target.

Dec. 12: A Dark Eagle missile for Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon, LRHW, flies at test mission from SLC-46 facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida.