The Golden Dome

The key to missle defense is to intercept it during the boost phase,when all the warheads are in one place and there are no decoys - that's a window of less than 2 minutes. A global satellite network with interceptors could achieve that, but of course it could be depleted and can't be quickly reloaded.

Of course, Russia already has the ability to send nukes via to undersea drone to any coastal city, and the Dome would do nothing to stop that.
 
arthwollipot said:
It wasn't feasible when Reagan proposed it in 1984, it's not feasible now.
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Exactly. So where is the money going? On feasibility studies, proofs-of-concept, advanced weapons development, and a myriad of other wastes of taxpayer money that will go nowhere and do nothing at all. And what do these all have in common? They are all run by TACO Don's mates and donors, with a hefty behind-the-scenes kickback in it for Donny personally.
 
Norman Alexander said:
Exactly. So where is the money going? On feasibility studies, proofs-of-concept, advanced weapons development, and a myriad of other wastes of taxpayer money that will go nowhere and do nothing at all. And what do these all have in common? They are all run by TACO Don's mates and donors, with a hefty behind-the-scenes kickback in it for Donny personally.
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Not to mention, the money is going towards Trump's ego.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
The key to missle defense is to intercept it during the boost phase,when all the warheads are in one place and there are no decoys - that's a window of less than 2 minutes. A global satellite network with interceptors could achieve that, but of course it could be depleted and can't be quickly reloaded.

Of course, Russia already has the ability to send nukes via to undersea drone to any coastal city, and the Dome would do nothing to stop that.
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Russia or China probably also have the technology to pre-emptively jam, wipe out the interceptors in orbit. The danger is that this would produce a major imbalance, in power, Russia and China would need to respond in kind.

This will mean weaponising space,
 
I think that is an inevitability, according to Cold War Logic. And since according to widespread belief the Cold War worked to defeat the USSR, China and the US will consider it the battlefield to dominate.
And that might not be for the worst: better fancy space weapons than conventional armies, better meaningless numbers of "kill vehicles" than trillions for "6th generation fighters" that create the illusion of invincibility.

In the end, every side just needs the means to keep score, to assure itself that the other side cannot enforce its will on yours.
 
Planigale said:
Russia or China probably also have the technology to pre-emptively jam, wipe out the interceptors in orbit. The danger is that this would produce a major imbalance, in power, Russia and China would need to respond in kind.

This will mean weaponising space,
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China probably has some of the mentioned capabilities (though given recent revelations about their missile forces it's doubtful), but Ruzzia is in a situation where being able to launch anything other than short range conventionals is beyond them.
 
I just wonder what would Robert Heinlein make of this? In Space Cadets they had missions to maintain the orbiting nuclear missiles, I can't help feel that the Space force will be undertaking missions like that to maintain the orbiting interceptors.
 
The Golden Dome is a hypothetical missile defense system which intercepts all incoming missiles that enter the country. Is that what it is?
 
William Parcher said:
The Golden Dome is a hypothetical missile defense system which intercepts all incoming missiles that enter the country. Is that what it is?
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Not exactly.

It's a new component being added to the existing multi-layered missile defense system that already protects North America. By putting interceptors into LEO, it aims to defeat incoming missile earlier in their flight. This is highly desirable, but difficult to do. Even this solution is not complete by itself. It just adds another layer of defense.

It's also not hypothetical. Prototypes were produced during the 80s. Those programs were not pursued because with the collapse of the Soviet Union the pressing need was seen as diminished. A similar thing happened with America's 1980s-era hypersonic missile development.
 
Rather a good Perun video on YouTube a week or so back, discussing the scale of the technical problem in making something like this work. His videos run about an hour but he's an engaging and well-informed speaker.
 
The Great Zaganza said:
The key to missle defense is to intercept it during the boost phase,when all the warheads are in one place and there are no decoys - that's a window of less than 2 minutes. A global satellite network with interceptors could achieve that, but of course it could be depleted and can't be quickly reloaded.

Of course, Russia already has the ability to send nukes via to undersea drone to any coastal city, and the Dome would do nothing to stop that.
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The USSR deployed nuclear armed torpedoes for coastal attack in the fifties.
 
Jack by the hedge said:
Rather a good Perun video on YouTube a week or so back, discussing the scale of the technical problem in making something like this work. His videos run about an hour but he's an engaging and well-informed speaker.
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Technically challenging, sure, but considered quite feasible as early as the 80s, when it was originally ordered into production.

The main technical challenge have to do with the fact that it's not very efficient. But excellence in defense generally has less to with efficiency, and more to do with closing the gap at whatever the price.

Nobody wants to see a city nuked because reliably intercepting a missile during its boost (or launch!) phase isn't very efficient.
 
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The Great Zaganza said:
quite a different thing to be able to seek a nuke into a harbor on a torpedo/drone.
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Again, they could do that with a Type 65. Park a sub off the coast and pick off cities and bases. Or volley off a few dozen cruise missiles below the RADAR horizon.
 
If Senator William Proxmire were still alive, he might give it the Golden Fleece award.
 
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