4 ms·
Not for first strike. First strike is about the ability to destroy or seriously degrade an enemy's ability to retailiate. With this it's huge, cannot be hidde
by lonelyasacloud 5y ago
Not for first strike. First strike is about the ability to destroy or seriously degrade an enemy's ability to retailiate.
With this it's huge, cannot be hidden or moved and the orientation would be obvious from a spy satellite. Any serious enemy would just have systems like this under 24/7 observation and would launch retaliation the moment it was fired, or even looked like it was going to be fired at them.
Other applications perhaps.
- blincoln 5y agoCouldn't it be hidden underground (or in a mountain/large hill), with something like a ring shaped trench or slit leading to the launch aperture? Basically a big, camouflaged version of WWI/WWII-style concrete coastal gun emplacements. I'm no expert, but I thought ICBM launches were detected using thermal IR sensors on satellites. There wouldn't be any for this launcher. There would still be a heat signature from the second stage, but it wouldn't need to be anywhere near the launcher itself.
- yholio 5y agoI believe the parent is right, you couldn't hide it. Even if you succeed in building them completely stealthy, it's just a matter of time until the enemy finds out the locations using espionage or signals intelligence, and after that they will place the site unde non-stop satellite surveillance. They are massive and can't be moved, so they are sitting ducks. As for launching, you are guaranteed to produce a thermal signature in the first few seconds of flight, since you hit the high density atmosphere at a 3-5 Km/s speed. You will leave a distinct, large and highly detectable infrared signature and the enemy will be alerted: https://youtu.be/JAczd3mt3X0?t=274 https://youtu.be/JAczd3mt3X0?t=274