Posted on 05/01/2017 1:53:15 PM PDT by blam
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor (R) is seen in Seongju, South Korea.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) The U.S. militarys THAAD missile defense system in South Korea has reached an initial operating capability to defend against North Korean missiles, U.S. officials said on Monday, forging ahead with the system despite staunch objections from China.
Beijing has opposed activation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), arguing the systems radar could be used to spy into its territory, despite assurances from Washington that THAAD is purely defensive.
The United States is looking for China to use its influence with Pyongyang to rein in its advancing nuclear and missile programs, and it is unclear how Beijing will react to the development.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a major, major conflict with North Korea is possible, and THAADs activation adds another layer of complexity to escalating tensions.
The system has also generated controversy in South Korea. The favorite to win South Koreas presidential election on May 9, has called for deployment to be delayed until after the next administration is in place and can review the decision.
Local residents have worried they will be a target for North Korean missiles.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at oann.com ...
Trump needs to send a big bill for THAAD and rest of our defense.
If that were true about detonating a nuke during the shoot Dow,nether they would not deploy it and would use the Patriot system don’t you think?
For a nuke to detonate the conventional explosives have to detonate absolutely perfectly to compress a given quantity of fissionable material to the density necessary for fission to begin.
If that doesn’t happen no nuclear reaction can take place.
L
As I understand the initial charge on the nuke is shaped to jam the fission material together and anything interrupting the trigger and explosion won’t detonate the nuke....course that is assuming they are using typical engineering and not just whatever they throw together....so yeah there’s a risk, but better than allowing it to detonate on target wouldn’t you say?
“staunch objections from China”
The Chinese probably will want a few dozen themselves for their own protection.
By the way I wonder if it had crossed anyone’s mind that the last so called Failed missile launch N. Korea conducted was not a failed launch at all as some may suggest. Perhaps they just wanted to test and see how well they could Remotely touch off one of those missiles. A procedure perhaps a little later on could be used to touch off one of their missiles tipped with a nuclear warhead and launched from a freighter anywhere close to some US territory and launched some miles up into the atmosphere and in the process generate an EMP knocking out a power grid.
I wouldnt pass anything by this pathetic, dim witted, pudgy imbecile. Since they dont have the technology, at least not yet to launch an ICBM this would be about the closest thing to it. I would dread the thought, that this is what this dumb bastard has in mind, neither would it surprise me if our own military may have come to the same conclusion. Well this is just a thought and crossed my mind as I am certainly not an expert in this field. No doubt that there all kinds of experts amongst the Freeper community who easily could dispel that crazy notion of mine.
Will he pull all the U.S. forces out if they don't pay?
“won’t the impact detonate the nuke resulting in an EMP depending on altitude above earth”
I suspect nuclear warheads are designed not to explode simply because of a nearby blast.
The explosion might simply send the warhead off-course, so it might explode miles away from its intended target.
Nuclear bombs are probably built as strongly as they can be given their delivery vehicle, probably with several inches worth of high-strength alloy.
“neither would it surprise me if our own military may have come to the same conclusion”
I’ve thought the same thing myself.
Kim could easily take out a twenty square mile are of a US city, however, US cities sprawl - the NYC suburbs extend about 80 miles to the east and 40 miles to the southwest.
Even an H-bomb might only take out an area the size of DC itself.
Suburban sprawl is our main defense.
It would probably take nearly 20 H-bombs to wipe out DC and its suburbs.
The South Koreans refuse to pay for this.
Well I thought that this clown would be more likely detonating it in the upper atmosphere causing an EMP pulse which would take out a large chunk of the electrical grid. As you well know, without electricity our society would come to a standstill.
If they did, then wouldn't that mean the U.S. would have to leave the missile in South Korea and could not move them elsewhere if the situation required?
One thing about THAAD, the “kill” is accomplished by impact, not explosion. When something impacts at the velocity we are talking about the material is disintegrated into atomic “sand”. As others have indicated, a nuclear explosion must occur precisely as designed, any error will result in a non-nuclear break up but as already understood, the impact with the THAAD kill vehicle will result in a cloud of nuclear particles and no nuclear explosion. The cloud will spread in the upper atmosphere where it will add to the Van Allan radiation belts around the planet. They will be in the space atmosphere and will add to this radiation but this is considered preferable to a ground detonation. Right?
I didn’t think a THAAD kill was high enough to add to the Van Allen belts. The addition would minuscule cat best.
I believe the explosive may be partially activated but explosives depend on pressure and the impact collision is going to be tearing pressure confinement apart and essentially opening up pathways to depressurize. I do not know the details either but this is the safest path to taking a nuke apart. That is why it was chosen (and forces the design to be very accurate at a very high speed.).
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