Hawaii hit by false alarm of a ballistic missile threat

[hobbsyoyo]

Come on hobbs, the first one is nonsense (the purpose of missile defense is....missile defense? that's a way of avoiding the issue, the reason we want to defend against enemy missiles is to threaten them with our missiles with impunity), and I don't think the second one works because a rogue state looking to nuke the US probably wouldn't bother with a ballistic missile.

It's not avoiding the issue or nonsense. It is what it is. That it has value in enabling an offensive use of nuclear weapons doesn't discount its defensive use.

Just because I can use a rifle to kill people doesn't mean it can also be used for recreation or hunting. Same thing here.

I'd say since Reagan's Star Wars initiative. Now, we can sometimes hit an ICBM if we know when it's coming, at what speed, in what trajectory.

Actually our attempts at missile defense go way back to the 50's with systems like Nike-Zeus. Back then the approach was to attempt to nuke the incoming nukes and hope for the best. It was primitive and counterproductive but we spent a ton of money on it anyways. There were on-again, off-again attempts at missile defense from that point up until Reagan kicked it into super high gear. It's worth noting that Reagan's program was based on lies and gross exaggerations by one of his science advisors that was gung-ho on the concept and wanted all the monies to study it and attempt to build a system.

 

[Borachio]

In the meantime, all these lies and exaggerations alarmed the Soviets so much that they took their eyes off the ball, panicked, and sold all their state assets to the KGB at knock-down prices.

Nice footwork, there.

 

[Lexicus]

That it has value in enabling an offensive use of nuclear weapons doesn't discount its defensive use.

I just don't buy this. The 'defensive use' is to undermine the nuclear balance-of-power and MAD. It is destabilizing and dangerous. Fortunately though as we've seen it also doesn't really work and it almost certainly never will.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

In the meantime, all these lies and exaggerations alarmed the Soviets so much that they took their eyes off the ball, panicked, and sold all their state assets to the KGB at knock-down prices.

Nice footwork, there.

They also spent a ton of money trying to replicate the Space Shuttle as they were convinced it was a first-strike weapon. The Shuttle most definitely was designed to deliver and retrieve Air Force payloads (and this actually directly compromised the design and made it a death trap) but it would have made a terrible first-strike weapon and anyone paying attention could have told them that. But it didn't matter because we were spending a lot of money on it so they thought they should too. Their own shuttle flew an unmanned test mission once and then died a lonely death when its hangar collapsed on it 30 years later.

There's been a lot of theorizing that the huge sums of money spent on the Buran program helped sink the USSR but I don't think it really made a huge difference in the end.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Relevant -
The Russians are reportedly developing an intercontinental, underwater 100 megaton torpedo for use as a first strike weapon.


I'm not sure how credible this report is though.

Also relevant - Trump wants to expand the US nuclear arsenal by revamping all of the missiles, adding new missile boats, developing new cruise missiles for ships and resuming warhead production with updated designs.

 

[innonimatu]

Relevant -
The Russians are reportedly developing an intercontinental, underwater 100 megaton torpedo for use as a first strike weapon.

I'm not sure how credible this report is though.

My guess at an intercontinental underwater torpedo? It's called a submarine. I read they'll be developing gunpowder next.

Someone's trying to get state funds for new weapons because of the torpedo gap...

 

[Timsup2nothin]

For a very long time the only thing keeping a submarine from launching a nuclear torpedo into your harbor is the limited range of the torpedo.

 

[r16]

and what's exactly the use of the Canyon ? What , travels a whole day at speed and nobody engages it ? Silent running first strike weapon , well maybe , right ?