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Many anti-air missiles detonate at range and destroy with shrapnel. And shrapnel damage is just kinetic. But that's probably not what you mean. Yes. For lig
by michael1999 4y ago
Many anti-air missiles detonate at range and destroy with shrapnel. And shrapnel damage is just kinetic. But that's probably not what you mean.
Yes. For lightly armoured targets, their own velocity might do it. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Brilliant_Pebbles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brilliant_Pebbles#Brilliant_Pe...
And if you want to go further, de-orbiting tungsten rods make the explosives redundant. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinetic_bombardment
- robonerd 4y ago> de-orbiting tungsten rods Over-hyped I think. Sure the kinetic energy is incredible, but what of the terminal ballistics? I think these would have substantial over-penetration against anything except deep bunkers; most of that kinetic energy would be spent driving that rod through bedrock, like an APFSDS dart shot into tank armor. Good for punching holes in things.
- michael1999 4y agoCompletely agree. Those systems solve a bunch of non-problems and completely destabilize MAD. There's a reason they were never developed. But I wouldn't discount to the ability of weapons designers to figure out the frangibility and deliver the bulk of the energy to a tuneable depth.