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No, We Cannot Shoot Down North Korea's Missiles
Why don't they just shoot those North Korean missiles down? Best read this...
Link to tweet
No, We Cannot Shoot Down North Koreas Missiles
BY JOE CIRINCIONE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
It's time national leaders speak realistically about missile defense. ... The number one reason we dont shoot down North Koreas missiles is that we cannot. ... Officials like to reassure their publics about our defense to these missiles. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told his nation after last weeks test, We didnt intercept it because no damage to Japanese territory was expected. ... That is half true. The missile did not pose a serious threat. It flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido, landing 3700 km (2300 miles) from its launch point near North Koreas capital of Pyongyang.
The key word here is over. Like way over. Like 770 kilometers (475 miles) over Japan at the apogee of its flight path. Neither Japan nor the United States could have intercepted the missile. None of the theater ballistic missile defense weapons in existence can reach that high. It is hundreds of kilometers too high for the Aegis interceptors deployed on Navy ships off Japan. Even higher for the THAAD systems in South Korea and Guam. Way too high for the Patriot systems in Japan, which engage largely within the atmosphere.
All of these are basically designed to hit a missile in the post-mid-course or terminal phase, when it is on its way down, coming more or less straight at the defending system. Patriot is meant to protect relatively small areas such as ports or air bases; THAAD defends a larger area; the advanced Aegis system theoretically could defend thousands of square kilometers.
But could we intercept before the missile climbed that high? There is almost no chance of hitting a North Korean missile on its way up unless an Aegis ship was deployed very close to the launch point, perhaps in North Korean waters. Even then, it would have to chase the missile, a race it is unlikely to win. In the only one or two minutes of warning time any system would have, the probability of a successful engagement drops close to zero.
....
Joe Cirincione is president of Ploughshares Fund and the author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late. FULL BIO
BY JOE CIRINCIONE
SEPTEMBER 17, 2017
It's time national leaders speak realistically about missile defense. ... The number one reason we dont shoot down North Koreas missiles is that we cannot. ... Officials like to reassure their publics about our defense to these missiles. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told his nation after last weeks test, We didnt intercept it because no damage to Japanese territory was expected. ... That is half true. The missile did not pose a serious threat. It flew over the Japanese island of Hokkaido, landing 3700 km (2300 miles) from its launch point near North Koreas capital of Pyongyang.
The key word here is over. Like way over. Like 770 kilometers (475 miles) over Japan at the apogee of its flight path. Neither Japan nor the United States could have intercepted the missile. None of the theater ballistic missile defense weapons in existence can reach that high. It is hundreds of kilometers too high for the Aegis interceptors deployed on Navy ships off Japan. Even higher for the THAAD systems in South Korea and Guam. Way too high for the Patriot systems in Japan, which engage largely within the atmosphere.
All of these are basically designed to hit a missile in the post-mid-course or terminal phase, when it is on its way down, coming more or less straight at the defending system. Patriot is meant to protect relatively small areas such as ports or air bases; THAAD defends a larger area; the advanced Aegis system theoretically could defend thousands of square kilometers.
But could we intercept before the missile climbed that high? There is almost no chance of hitting a North Korean missile on its way up unless an Aegis ship was deployed very close to the launch point, perhaps in North Korean waters. Even then, it would have to chase the missile, a race it is unlikely to win. In the only one or two minutes of warning time any system would have, the probability of a successful engagement drops close to zero.
....
Joe Cirincione is president of Ploughshares Fund and the author of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late. FULL BIO
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No, We Cannot Shoot Down North Korea's Missiles (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Sep 2017
OP
Guess what? After spending trillions on reagans "peace shield" they can't guarantee shooting down
The_Casual_Observer
Sep 2017
#4
gordianot
(15,238 posts)1. Even if they manage to shoot down a missile.
Be certain that Chinese or Russian assets will be close by to gather signals on how it was done rendering the system obsolete for future use. Military secrets are the most vulnerable of all secrets. By now the Russians and Chinese assets are well in place passed over by Trumpian traitors.
underpants
(182,826 posts)2. Can't we just pick up the Aegis to get it closer?
Thanks for the info
BamaRefugee
(3,483 posts)3. If we DID shoot down a nuclear missile, what is the chance that...
the warhead could still detonate, and if it did, how and where would the radiation be spread?
The_Casual_Observer
(27,742 posts)4. Guess what? After spending trillions on reagans "peace shield" they can't guarantee shooting down
even a single god damn rocket. Fuck this bogus dystopian nightmare this world has become.