Exactly, but if the trajectory changes due to any factor, or there isn’t enough time, it should miss. How can the early warning system calculate all those factors and intercept 90% of the time? It seems beyond remarkable. Maybe with multiple intercept points and ID missiles fired, I could see 90%. But they only fire 2 interceptors per rocket, correct? There are so many factors that can change the trajectory. Are the intercept points calculated on launch towards apogee, or after apogee? Or both? Is there enough time?
Burn time, wind, weight and time all factor into calculating the intercept. So if you got one wrong, then you would be making the best estimation. All of this has to be done by a computer, unless you have plenty of time. I imagine Israel doesn’t have much time from launch to impact.
Burn time, wind, weight and time all factor into calculating the intercept. So if you got one wrong, then you would be making the best estimation. All of this has to be done by a computer, unless you have plenty of time. I imagine Israel doesn’t have much time from launch to impact.
Burn times for the Hamas rockets are short. By the time they reach apogee, they have already burnt out and are decelerating. My understanding is the Iron Dome only fires if the rocket's trajectory appears likely to strike a populated area. It doesn't need to vaporize its target either since knocking it off its initial trajectory will send it over less densely populated areas.
Exactly what set of criteria the Iron Dome uses I don't know but it doesn't seem all that difficult given the computational power available nowdays.
Ballistics is a well-understood science. Computers make it easy, not just calculating the intercept but refining it as the distance closes. The closer the merging rockets get, the greater the accuracy.
Apparently you don’t understand how _fast_ computers run today. The one you are using RIGHT NOW is SO FAST that in the time that it takes _light_ to go from the screen to your eyes, your computer has carried out at least 4 instructions; in the flight time for ID missile, it can carry out literally billions of instructions.
“Doesn’t have much time”? meh, the ID onboard computers are _bored_ during most of the process.