The Russians have been talking for a couple of years, now, about their new missile which can dodge American interceptors. According to Bill Gertz (and grab the usual handful of salt here), that weapon was tested earlier this month.
The Topol-M missile has a warhead-carrying reentry vehicle which “can change course and range while traveling at speeds estimated at about 3 miles per second,” Gertz notes.
That’s a serious problem for missile defenses, “because such countermeasures rely on sensors to project a [reentry vehicle’s] flight path and impact point so that an interceptor missile can be guided to the right spot to knock [it] out.“
Situational Awareness has details on the Topol-M. And if the site is right, the weapon is pretty hard to stop.
It “flies a faster, flatter trajectory and has more opportunities to change course in flight… [It] carr[ies] realistic decoys [that] have the same weight and radar cross section as the actual warhead… [And those] warheads and decoys are also equipped with active-deception jamming systems.” Look out.
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Hmm. It’s interesting, but then there’s the Gertz-factor to consider. Remember his “RDX taken to Iran by the Russian army” scoop, single sourced to John A. Shaw, that came right at the peak of the vanishing RDX furore? No evidence at all, and comprehensively debunked in days. Shaw was vanished from the administration immediately post-election.
Developing weapons in our direction while China nibbles them to death in the east…
Result: Russians will be paying more for their missiles to dodge the missile defense systems. That means they will be producing less for the increase of cost.
What we are missing here is the fact that the missle was tracked by radar station in Japan the whole way. I would say if they can track it they can shoot it. Besides the BMD insnt intended to stop the Russian or even Chineese assault just a Nork, rougue take over or maybe a Iran or such limited strike maybe at most a dozen.
Did Russia test flight these things over the United States?
I live on the East Coast and I hear alot of sonic booms which I always assumed were low flying jet’s.
I wouldnt rule out a 3 mile per second ICBM missile flying overhead. There are fairly substantial booms with concussions that you can feel.
Maybe there is some kind of “cold war” going on still.
Else it would be appreciated if the US Military would stop with Military flights over residential neighborhoods when it is going to make it sound like a form of apocalypse.
I live in Rhode Island btw. Newport County.
All this is meaningless with repsect to Russia, dodge or no dodge we both still have enough hardware to annihiliate the entire world population. Interceptors are not for Russian junk but junk of the “third world” kind. Oh and by the way it’s not reliable enough to depend on, but deployed in Alaska anyway.
Eisenhower warned about the “Military Industrial Complex”. Here’s a perfect example of how your tax dollars get wasted.
> Did Russia test flight these things over the
> United States?
Where do these people come from?
Probably voted Democrat, eh?
> Interceptors are not for Russian junk but junk
> of the “third world“
Uh, so… you mean… like China, right? Oh wait, maybe you mean India. No? Ok, so you must mean North Korea (aka South China). oh. Pakistan? (you know, it’s not PC these days to refer to them as “Third World”… they much prefer the term “Emerging Economy”)
What you need to remember is that a lot of the Russian missle technology has transfered and new developments are probably easily transfered as well. So, you may want to tone down the “Third World” rhetoric a bit.
Also, by definition, a nuclear missle/warhead that can reach its target without being shot down is not “junk”. Would you like to find out if it’s junk or not? Me neither. I think that’s called “deterrence” or “peace through superior firepower” or “thor has big stick with stone tied to end” or whatever colorful name you’d like to give it.
My take on missle defense is that we’ve probably become really good (ok, well, maybe just mediocre) at shooting down our missles, but when the real thing happens, all bets are off (what’s the average flight time (sub launched)? 8 minutes? Support missle defense? I guess PT Barnum was right.)
That comment @ …must have voted democrat…, just shows the added divisions in our country, which begs the question, how do “they” beat us?
Divide and conquer, eg, blue states vs. red states, etc.
There would be no way I would vote democrat. So the answer is no, I voted for Bush who is a Republican. But either decision is a bad decision because both sides spit on the Constitution.
So go end yourself quietly. I am not an expert on loud noises/concussions for the sky, so how the hell would I know. In fact an ICBM probably sounds exactly like one of the “noises” I heard and I was pretty sure at least someones house probably fell over, although nothing was damaged.
So how about in addition to ending yourself quietly, you STFU too.
I guess that “probably voted democrat” was meant as irony. Repulicans think the world is out to get them, and they should after 8 years with Bush.
Good Morning Folks,
I think “mputtre” pretty much said all that needs to be said about the Topol-M, it is at heart a tactical threatre level weapon. The irony here is that the weapon that was most likely be the most effectine in countering the Topol-M was the Navy’s Standard-3 Missile which as we all know was cancelled a couple of weeks ago.
The reason that this article is even seeing the light of day is “The Missile Defense System” that everyday is losing more of it’s reason for existence.
With the lessing of any, if it existed in the first place threats from North Korea and Iran, Bush can forget about Iraq in his “Axis of Evil” the $Billions being spent on this public works project for Sen. Ted Stevens (R.Alaska) and Boeing seems more and more an unjustified waste of DoD money especially in the current deficient enviroment.
Senator Stevens already has got his M-1126 “Striker” BCT and who knoes how many $253Million bridges to nowhere, I think it’s time to pull the pulg on “The Missile Defense System” and take our loses. Maybe there is some oil under the sites, that could help refund back a little.
ALLON,
Byron Skinner
If the Russian decoys have the same mass and configuration as real Reentry vehicles (RVs), why don’t they just add more real ones? The missile is carrying the same payload, regrdless.
The jinking RV sounds like some of the stuff we have tried since the late 1970s –1980s.
Byron,
SM-3 hasn’t been cancelled. In fact, it just had a very successful test on the 17th. It would, of course, still have to be tested against a long-range threat.
I think by merging an Electromagnetic railgun with ramjet technology you can develop a missile that can shoot down the topol M. Upon destruction the missile would act as a shot gun dispersing ballbearings. The missile would use radar but would also use an onboard laser or whatever technology is out there to acquire its target and not be fooled. Of course it would have to use it similtaneously and inconjunction so as to not be fooled. The missle should use together optical, radar, infrared, laser, plasma detection and other targeting technologies and use a process of trial an error as to not become fooled. The missile should have vents on its side to give it exceptional agility.