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To: GonzoGOP
Every missile fired at a missile defense station is one that cannot hit a more valuable target.

Those are different missiles. You don't need an ICBM with a MIRV to take a missile base out. That's what short- and medium-range missiles are for. Russia has those, and they don't have any better use for them anyway. The missile has CEP of 5-7 meters which makes conventional warheads sufficient; but of course Russia has nuclear warheads for those missiles as well.

And since they are by their nature the best defended places, you are going to need a bunch of missiles to take them out.

It may be difficult to attack those sites with infantry. However a mere 100 kT nuclear blast will ruin the whole day on any missile base. The radar site in the Czech Republic is a sitting duck; you can't put those antennas underground.

Because fake missile sites are cheap as heck but you can't take the chance of missing one so you need to hammer them all.

Actually missile sites are very expensive to build, and since Russia has spy satellites it can easily detect how much construction was done on this or that site. And even that is needed only if Russia has no spies in its backyard and doesn't have a clue what's up.

Also missiles are easy to retarget, so you never know which bases will be attacked. Missiles themselves are dirt cheap as missiles go. It's largely a fuel tank, some servos and some electronics. There is nothing inherently expensive once the R&D is done. The nuclear warhead would be the most expensive part.

However, all that said, I believe these missiles serve as blackmail of hosting nations. Medvedev essentially says that European countries who host those bases are now targeted, and who knows, perhaps a missile or two, assembled by a drunken worker, will deviate from the course and end up striking Warszaw or Prague. So choose your friends wisely.

23 posted on 11/23/2011 1:37:45 PM PST by Greysard
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To: Greysard
Missiles themselves are dirt cheap as missiles go. It's largely a fuel tank, some servos and some electronics. There is nothing inherently expensive once the R&D is done. The nuclear warhead would be the most expensive part.

Dude you seriously need to get a clue where it comes to missile cost.

First off there would only be a fuel tank in a very old missile. These days if it isn't solid fuel it is going to die on the launch pad. The liquids just take too long to ready for launch.

Solid fuel rockets are not cheap. For the LGM-118s the price tag was around $70 million a pop in 1986 dollars. The Russians aren't saying what the new RS-24 costs them, but considering they can only afford to buy three a year dirt cheap probably isn't the answer.

They had to retire all their IRBMs as part of the treaty that got rid of our Pershing IIs so they don't have any of those. They have a bunch of Iskander-M missiles. Those only have a 400km range which puts them on the wrong side of Belarus and Ukraine. Belarus may let them in, but would Belarus let Russia launch a nuclear war from their territory?

Finally there is the problem that they are in fact Anti ballistic missile sites. Attacking them with ballistic missiles is like attacking a mousetrap factory with mice. The Iskander only has a speed of 2600 m/s. Against an ABM system that has been able to repeatedly shoot down LGM-30s at 7000 km/s it would be like shooting fish in a barrel. They Russians say they can make all kinds of evasive moves, but it is still a rather slow ballistic missile. You are going to have to send a lot if you expect one to get through.
36 posted on 11/23/2011 3:29:31 PM PST by GonzoGOP (There are millions of paranoid people in the world and they are all out to get me.)
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