4 ms·
(on the topic of defense vs. offense above) I think one of the coolest missiles is the sprint missile, turns 90 degrees goes fast af and glows orange almost im
by ge96 2y ago
(on the topic of defense vs. offense above)
I think one of the coolest missiles is the sprint missile, turns 90 degrees goes fast af and glows orange almost immediately
Another tangent the kill vehicles which I'm not sure if they still use
Payload delivery is interesting (the multiple cones in the head separate and spin on re-entry)
And finally last tangent, a study on the effects of clouds/air particles hitting the faces of hypersonic glide vehicles, I remember a picture it looked like a #2 pencil tip but it was partially ablated
edit: I found that image I was thinking of sorry it's on X was just on Google Images
https://x.com/masao_dahlgren/status/1488632918465470467 https://x.com/masao_dahlgren/status/1488632918465470467
(Reentry vehicle nosetip after flying through rain at Mach 10)
- dboreham 2y agoSprint is long out of service. Fun fact: when I drove out to see what was left of the launch complex, probably 20 years ago now, I was surprised to find a guy mowing the lawn and the lights still on! I assumed this was for some ABM treaty reasons. Wondering if it's still kept in that state.
- buildsjets 2y agoSprint never went into service. An Army Colonel I am friends with got to watch the final experimental launch at White Sands.
- wat10000 2y agoICBM interceptors have an insurmountable economic problem when facing a peer adversary. They cost as much as an ICBM does, so immediately you need to spend as much on defense as they spend on offense. Then consider that your interceptors might miss, and defend a limited area while the enemy's ICBMs can target anywhere, and you need to spend quite a bit more than they do. Add in MIRVs and suddenly you need to spend an order of magnitude more money to defend. If they want to, they can always outmatch your defenses.
- hammock 2y agoCan offensive ICBMs turn 90 degrees in air?
- HappyDreamer 2y agoZero need for them to do that. Still, apparently they can turn sharply, this looks like 40': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneuverable_reentry_vehicle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneuverable_reentry_vehicle The "Flight test of the Advanced Maneuverable Reentry Vehicle in early 1980" photo at the bottom. That was a while ago.
- wat10000 2y agoWhy is that relevant?
- schmidtleonard 2y agoYes, but non-peer threats like North Korea are a growing concern. I've seen powerpoint slides about GMD / Aegis / THAAD and press releases about successful tests. I'd imagine that's the threat profile they hope to cover and I imagine they have less internet hype than SPRINT simply because the good videos are all still classified.
- wat10000 2y agoGMD is meant to counter threats like North Korea. There aren’t enough interceptors to stop a strike even from China, but more than enough to stop an attack by NK.
- maxglute 2y ago>more than enough to stop an attack by NK. Maybe a few years ago. Recent estimates for NK is ~40 fissile material for warheads and similar number of icbms, which incidentally is around how many gmd interceptors US has. Ideally need >1 interceptor for each incoming, so matter of NK dud rates.
- 2y ago
- chipsa 2y agoSprint was in service for one day before Congress voted to decommission the site. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_R._Mickelsen_Safeguard_Complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_R._Mickelsen_Safeguard...
- robotnikman 2y agoThe British Swingfire missile does this too, hence the name. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swingfire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swingfire
- ge96 2y agoI think Russia has one too (missile that can turn 90 deg), a big one that comes out of the ground edit: probably not that big of a deal to be able to do that but it looks cool
- lawlessone 2y agoSome Russian missiles have even been seen turning 180 degrees!
- yread 2y agoOnyx coastal defense
- hypercube33 2y agoOn that tangent I think the sub fired ones that ride a bubble of air to the surface, pop out and then once they start falling towards the water kick on are pretty neat. I think these are Trident SLBM rockets
- woodrow 2y agoEspecially notable is the Sprint accelerated at 100g! That's Mach 10 in < 4s.
- stackedinserter 2y agoSoviet/Russian ICBM interceptor looks cool too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8W1L6TDG7w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8W1L6TDG7w
- ge96 2y agoOh yeah the anti-ship ones turn 90 degrees, probably what I was thinking of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOPZd49W5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QOPZd49W5I
- zamalek 2y agoPutin claims to have low-flying hypersonic missiles, the Oreshnik, they would be extremely difficult to detect and nearly impossible to intercept. The hypersonic part has been verified - I haven't seen any confirmations of its low-flying capability (meaning it can maneuver around terrain). Of course, he claims that it can't be stopped, but he is making that claim in the midst of imperfect intelligence of his opponent. And it's Putin we're talking about, he'd claim Russia has flying pigs if he thought were advantageous to.
- kasHgabG 2y agoPutin is wrong. Even Ted Postol, who has been (falsely, I think!) accused of all sorts of loyalties in the Syrian missile drama, has said that the Oreshnik is a normal intermediate range ballistic missile (variant of the RS-26) and not a low flying hypersonic missile. He also rejected the claim that inert warheads can do the damage that Putin claimed. Which is obvious, since the warheads cannot have more kinetic energy than the total energy of the rocket fuel minus drag. Hypersonic, yes. All IRBMs have hypersonic warheads on reentry.
- ceejayoz 2y agoOreshnik is a ballistic missile. It was originally mistaken for an ICBM. Hypersonic, yes (as are ICBMs from the 1960s). Low altitude, no.
- lmm 2y agoAll ballistic missiles are hypersonic (except very short-range ones), when people talk about "hypersonic missiles" they mean ones that have a hypersonic glide phase during which they can manoeuvre enough to evade interception.
- renewiltord 2y agoSubmarine Brahmos also does this apparently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA3M75ry_S0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA3M75ry_S0
- rpeden 2y agoThe fun thing about watching a Sprint video for the first time is that you just assume it must be sped up. Eventually you realize that no, it really does accelerate that quickly.
- BonoboIO 2y agoIt’s absolutely breathtaking and unreal to watch it go woooosh. I mean what a marvel of engineering.