Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

SoylentNews is powered by your submissions, so send in your scoop. Only 17 submissions in the queue.

U.S. Navy Ship Shoots Down Mock ICBM

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday November 17 2020, @08:26PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-did-it-mock-it-first? dept.

takyon writes:

Pentagon shoots down mock intercontinental missile in sea-based test

In a first for the Pentagon's push to develop defenses against intercontinental-range ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States, a missile interceptor launched from a U.S. Navy ship at sea hit and destroyed a mock ICBM in flight Tuesday, officials said.

Previous tests against ICBM targets had used interceptors launched from underground silos in the U.S. If further, more challenging tests prove successful, the ship-based approach could add to the credibility and reliability of the Pentagon's existing missile-defense system.

The success of Tuesday's test is likely to draw particular interest from North Korea, whose development of ICBMs and nuclear weapons is the main reason the Pentagon has sought to accelerate its building of missile-defense systems over the past decade.

Also at Bloomberg and DefenseNews.

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
U.S. Navy Ship Shoots Down Mock ICBM | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 26 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Tuesday November 17 2020, @11:02PM (1 child)

    by Freeman (732) on Tuesday November 17 2020, @11:02PM (#1078520) Journal

    True, but those aren't the same as ICBMs. They are moving at a much higher velocity and have a much lower altitude than an ICBM.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 2) by Arik on Tuesday November 17 2020, @11:21PM

    by Arik (4543) on Tuesday November 17 2020, @11:21PM (#1078535) Journal
    Nope, an IRBM is very much like an ICBM, they're just slightly shorter range. They're both still ballistic missiles, not cruise missiles. They boost at very high thrust onto a sub-orbital path, then come back down at very high velocity from above. There's a distinction of class based on maximum range, and the DF26 is /only/ good for about 3k miles, while the ICBM moniker is rather arbitrarily defined as having a range of at least 3.4k miles.
    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?