New York Times on the Web Forums Science

Missile Defense

Technology has always found its greatest consumer in a nation's war and defense efforts. Since the last attempts at a "Star Wars" defense system, has technology changed considerably enough to make the latest Missile Defense initiatives more successful? Can such an application of science be successful? Is a militarized space inevitable, necessary or impossible?

Read Debates, a new Web-only feature culled from Readers' Opinions, published every Thursday.

lchic - 04:01pm Feb 6, 2002 EST (#11315 of 11317)

[JackSTRAW UK has commented re MD policy ]
[Comprehensive MD archives bbc ]
[ French Foreign Minister has criticised USA foreign policy .. acting unilaterally without consent .. the world is growing weary ]

mazza9 - 06:19pm Feb 6, 2002 EST (#11316 of 11317)
Louis Mazza

RShow55:

If we assume a missile climbing at 40,000' at 5,000mph and a range of 200 miles from the ABL to the target you have the following. Radar range to target is 1.075 thousandths of a second one way. (200 miles divided by 186,000 miles per second). The missile will be traveling 14.6 feet between the arrival of each pulse train from the targeting laser. A one gigahertz processor will have sufficient time to calculate the trajectory with sufficent precision to keep the tracking/aim laser on target. In one thousandth of a second each way the computer would be capable of 1 million computations before the next pulse train returns. I suspect that 15 feet at two hundred miles is a small arc. But the frequency of the laser is so high that the measurement is capable of being accomplished.

You seemed mired in the details because you bias is towards disbelief. The techinque for acquistion, tracking and aiming is no different than the original ABM with which I was very familiar, (sorry if I say anymore I'll have to take my cyanide pill!), but other than the frequency of the radar and the speed of the computers, then and now, the techniques are proven.

A good example is thea comparison of the older generation and new generation bombers and precision guidance systems. When the first SRAM missiles were being delivered to the Air Force the CEP spec was being able to hit a football field from 600 miles away with the probablility of the ground zero being the 50 yard line. Boeing submitted a new targeting capability for the block 2 SRAMs. They would kick a field goal from 600 miles! During the Gulf War we were flying smart bombs into air shafts. Today, you dial which floor you wish it to detonate on, (third floor lingere, shoes, hats, BOOM!)

I dont't think you appreciate the actual outcomes that can occur when sufficent resources are applied.

If your concept of closure for this forum is to obtain consensus, well I believe that the system is doable.

LouMazza

rshow55 - 07:19pm Feb 6, 2002 EST (#11317 of 11317)

Umpires would help - - but let me get back to your example -- which I just saw.

You have to deal with numbers.

One question, for the laser case, is "how do you burn a hole in anything?" - (or even get it a little bit warm."

Angular resolution requirements have to be considered.

Let me see -- you need an angular resolution for the laser -- for the assembly - - and with respect to a moving missile -- something like 10 times tigher than the resolution of space telescope . How do you get it?

New York Times on the Web Forums Science Missile Defense