Missile firing
Missile tests or exercises, with the danger area and times during which missiles may be in flight or falling.
Navies and missile test ranges broadcast the areas where missiles will be fired, often as "hazardous operations" with daily windows. The largest areas belong to long-range tests; smaller ones to firing exercises off a coast.
The word also appears in war-risk advisories — reports of anti-ship missile attacks, as in the Red Sea since late 2023 — which seahazards places in a separate category. The warning's other terms show which kind of message it is.
What the archive shows
3,140 messages in this archive use “Missile firing”, the earliest issued 1998-08-18 and the latest 2026-09-23. 2 of them are in force in the latest lists we collected. A hazard reported again and again counts once per message.
The largest yearly count is 2017, with 236 messages. Collection is incomplete between 2024-05 and 2026-08-17, so 2024, 2025 and 2026 are not comparable with fully collected years.
Missiles accounts for 3,132 of 3,140 recorded messages (100%), the largest warning type group in this selection.
Located messages that use it fall in 32 sea areas; the most frequent are North Pacific Ocean (1,302), Barentsz Sea (436) and Black Sea (428).
Messages that use it are issued most often in September (347 across all years) and least often in January (198).
By warning series: NAVAREA XII 1,265, HYDROARC 639, HYDROPAC 629 and HYDROLANT 576, and 4 more.
Messages using it, by year of issue
By month of issue, all years
Where it appears · 32 sea areas
- North Pacific Ocean 1,302
- Barentsz Sea 436
- Black Sea 428
- Japan Sea 190
- Arabian Sea 71
- Aegean Sea 49
- Sea of Okhotsk 49
- North Atlantic Ocean 47
- Arctic Ocean 26
- South Atlantic Ocean 20
- Bay of Bengal 20
- Norwegian Sea 18
In force now · 2
- HYDROLANT 237/26 · Missiles · Aegean Sea2026-02-03 · in force
AEGEAN SEA. DNC 09. 1. MISSILE OPERATIONS 0530Z TO SUNSET DAILY EVERY WEDNESDAY THRU SATURDAY UNTIL 14 JUN AND 16 SEB…
Missile operations 0530Z to sunset daily every wednesday thru saturday until 14 jun and 16 seb thru 31 dec… → - NAVAREA XII 93/23 · Missiles · North Pacific Ocean2023-02-28 · in force
NORTH PACIFIC. HAWAII. 1. INTERMITTENT MISSILE FIRING OPERATIONS CONDUCTED BY THE PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY (PMRF), BARKING SANDS,…
Intermittent missile firing operations conducted by the pacific missile range facility (pmrf), barking… →
How it reads in recent messages
- HYDROPAC 2755/26 · Missiles · Arabian Sea2026-09-23
ARABIAN SEA. PAKISTAN. 1. MISSILE AND GUNNERY OPERATIONS 231900Z TO 251300Z SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 25-28.00N 063-18.00E,…
Missile and gunnery operations 231900Z to 251300Z sep in area bound by 25-28.00N 063-18.00E, 25-28.00N… → - NAVAREA XI 421/26 · Missiles2026-09-20
JAPAN SEA, EAST CHINA SEA AND NORTH PACIFIC, JAPAN. OBJECT POTENTIALLY BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED FROM NORTH KOREA POSSIBLY LANDED. VESSELS ARE REQUESTED TO PAY ATTENTION TO…
Object potentially ballistic missile launched from north korea possibly landed → - NAVAREA XI 420/26 · Missiles2026-09-20
JAPAN SEA, EAST CHINA SEA AND NORTH PACIFIC, JAPAN. OBJECT POTENTIALLY BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED FROM NORTH KOREA. VESSELS ARE REQUESTED TO PAY ATTENTION TO FURTHER INFORMATION…
Object potentially ballistic missile launched from north korea → - NAVAREA XI 418/26 · Missiles2026-09-20
JAPAN SEA, EAST CHINA SEA AND NORTH PACIFIC, JAPAN. OBJECT POTENTIALLY BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED FROM NORTH KOREA. VESSELS ARE REQUESTED TO PAY ATTENTION TO FURTHER INFORMATION…
Object potentially ballistic missile launched from north korea → - NAVAREA XI 419/26 · Missiles2026-09-20
JAPAN SEA, EAST CHINA SEA AND NORTH PACIFIC, JAPAN. OBJECT POTENTIALLY BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED FROM NORTH KOREA POSSIBLY LANDED. VESSELS ARE REQUESTED TO PAY ATTENTION TO…
Object potentially ballistic missile launched from north korea possibly landed → - HYDROARC 248/26 · Missiles · Barentsz Sea2026-09-20
BARENTS SEA. RUSSIA. 1. MISSILE OPERATIONS 0400Z TO 1500Z DAILY 25 AND 26 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 70-18.00N 036-10.00E,…
Missile operations 0400Z to 1500Z daily 25 and 26 sep in area bound by 70-18.00N 036-10.00E, 69-53.00N… → - HYDROARC 240/26 · Missiles · Barentsz Sea2026-09-16
BARENTS SEA. RUSSIA. 1. MISSILE OPERATIONS 2100Z TO 1800Z DAILY 21 THRU 24 SEP IN AREA BOUND BY 72-52.25N 034-14.50E,…
Missile operations 2100Z to 1800Z daily 21 thru 24 sep in area bound by 72-52.25N 034-14.50E, 72-27.17N… → - NAVAREA XI 409/26 · Missiles2026-09-15
JAPAN SEA. CANCEL INFORMATION OF MISSILE FIRING. CANCEL 0404/26 AND THIS MSG.
Cancel information of missile firing →
Earliest in the archive
- NAVAREA IV 247/98 · Missiles · North Atlantic Ocean1998-08-17
MISSILE DEBRIS RETRIEVAL OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE BY M/V LIBERTY STAR IN AREA…
Missile debris retrieval operations in progress until further notice by M/V liberty star in area bound by… →
Often in the same message
Related terms
- Hazardous operations
- NGA's heading for activities that make an area dangerous — most often rocket launches, space debris and weapons firings, and some open-ended danger areas.
- Rocket launching
- The areas where spent rocket stages, boosters and fairings are expected to fall after a launch, with the launch window.
- Gunnery and live firing
- Naval or coastal guns firing into a sea area for practice, at stated times.
- Naval exercise
- Warships, submarines or aircraft exercising in an area, sometimes with firings, sometimes simply to keep traffic clear.
Warning types that use it
Counts cover the messages in this archive that use the term, recounted 2026-09-24; see coverage for what is collected and since when. Not for navigation — follow official NAVAREA and coastal broadcasts.