U.S. intercepts ballistic missile in Hawaii test

The U.S. military says its ground-based mobile missile defense system has successfully shot down a medium-range ballistic missile during a test in Hawaii.

The military says the target missile was shot down Tuesday over the Pacific Ocean.

The target missile was fired from a mobile launch platform off the island of Kauai.

Soldiers with the 6th Air Defense Artillery Brigade then launched an interceptor from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai's west coast.

The Missile Defense Agency said in a statement that the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system had "completed a successful intercept."

The technology is specifically designed to shoot down ballistic missiles during their last stage of flight.

Link to article

This is great news. An improvement over our Patriot system.:)

Takes care of any launch from N. Korea, if they decided to push the button.

Were you involved? Are you showboating?! :P

Were you involved? Are you showboating?! :P

entropyecho

:lol:

Truth be told, I had nothing to do with it.:P

I am rather proud that the military did it, however.

Moving closer to war every day. Well at least the U.S. is protecting me.

Our military: "Protecting You from the Threats of Yesteryear (tm)"

Our military: "Protecting You from the Threats of Yesteryear (tm)"

Engrish_Major

Huh? This is new, shooting down a missile in the last stage of flight.

[QUOTE="Engrish_Major"]

Our military: "Protecting You from the Threats of Yesteryear (tm)"

Huh? This is new, shooting down a missile in the last stage of flight.

For all the good it'll do you guys in a real emergency.I doubt that 'takes care' of any threat from N.korea...grape_of_wrath

N. Korea's missile can reach Hawaii, so it doesn't hurt to have something as a defense.

Better the defense, than a smoldering ruin and the sound of geiger counters going crazy in the background...

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"]For all the good it'll do you guys in a real emergency.I doubt that 'takes care' of any threat from N.korea...topsemag55

N. Korea's missile can reach Hawaii, so it doesn't hurt to have something as a defense.

Better the defense, than a smoldering ruin and the sound of geiger counters going crazy in the background...

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"]For all the good it'll do you guys in a real emergency.I doubt that 'takes care' of any threat from N.korea...grape_of_wrath

N. Korea's missile can reach Hawaii, so it doesn't hurt to have something as a defense.

Better the defense, than a smoldering ruin and the sound of geiger counters going crazy in the background...

I think any chance of success is worth it...imagine the public outcry if we had it and didn't use it for fear we might miss.

BTW, the Patriot system did save Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from a lot of damage.

This is the sort of thing you would do in the military, right?

Anyway, that's good news.

I think any chance of success is worth it...imagine the public outcry if we had it and didn't use it for fear we might miss. topsemag55

BTW, the Patriot system did save Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from a lot of damage.topsemag55

This is the sort of thing you would do in the military, right?

Anyway, that's good news.

SgtKevali

Years prior to that, I did the atmospheric defense side of the house - tracking Soviet spy aircraft, watching over the U.S. ADIZ (Air Defense Identification Zone), providing ground radar support for and running intercept sorties for our tactical fighter planes, handling in-flight refueling missions, coordinating live with FAA Enroute Centers in New York and Washington, etc.

Fun times. Serious business, but very rewarding and enjoyable. You sometimes would experience a huge adrenaline rush when you handled in-flight emergencies, such as Hung Ordnance (live missile that only half-released from the fighter's wing, and was armed).:o

Takes care of any launch from N. Korea, if they decided to push the button.

topsemag55

I wonder what the odds would have been if they had missed the rocket and it hit a boat.

Haha awesome :P..

I wonder what the odds would have been if they had missed the rocket and it hit a boat.

FrostyPhantasm

Highly unlikely. Whenever the military runs a mission such as this, they clear out huge areas of all ships and aircraft. Nothing can enter.

Personal experience, I used to run refueling missions, and the track went over a FAA air traffic corridor. The U.S. military had an altitude block of 29,000 - 31,000 feet. The FAA could not direct any altitudes in or passing through that block within 10 NM of our track, without requesting it from us first.

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]Takes care of any launch from N. Korea, if they decided to push the button.

MushroomWig

North Korea isn't going to launch anything anyway. I know they're a communist country (and those countries leaders/governments often seem a bit "off"), but even they have a sense of self-preservation.

[QUOTE="MushroomWig"]

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]Takes care of any launch from N. Korea, if they decided to push the button.

SgtKevali

North Korea isn't going to launch anything anyway. I know they're a communist country (and those countries leaders/governments often seem a bit "off"), but even they have a sense of self-preservation.

Sound like good news to me. One more defensive weapon in our quiver only makes us safer.

[QUOTE="MushroomWig"]

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]Takes care of any launch from N. Korea, if they decided to push the button.

North Korea isn't going to launch anything anyway. I know they're a communist country (and those countries leaders/governments often seem a bit "off"), but even they have a sense of self-preservation.

Moving closer to war every day. Well at least the U.S. is protecting me.

warownslife

cool, cool...

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

[QUOTE="MushroomWig"] The system is hardly 100%, if anyone were to launch more than a few missiles then the chances of shooting them all down would be very slim.

grape_of_wrath

North Korea isn't going to launch anything anyway. I know they're a communist country (and those countries leaders/governments often seem a bit "off"), but even they have a sense of self-preservation.

When was the US mainland attacked during the Gulf War?

Awesome. I hope this system continues to improve...

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"][QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

North Korea isn't going to launch anything anyway. I know they're a communist country (and those countries leaders/governments often seem a bit "off"), but even they have a sense of self-preservation.

When was the US mainland attacked during the Gulf War?

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"]If the regime was in danger(not even by a foreign force) an attack at the US is not unthinkable.Similar to what happened during the 1st gulf war.grape_of_wrath

When was the US mainland attacked during the Gulf War?

If you knew Israel's reaction to the Scud launches, you would admire Bush Sr. for keeping them out of the Gulf War.

This is the sort of thing you would do in the military, right?

Anyway, that's good news.

SgtKevali

Oh, and btw, if you wanted to ask this - yes, I did detect and track actual nuclear test launches done by Russia. One was a land-based ICBM, the other was a SLBM from one of their submarines.

God, made your hair stand up when the alarms went off...we had 60 seconds to generate a launch report that went all the way to the White House, or we were out of a job.

We all prayed the computers wouldn't say that the U.S. (or one of our friends) was the intended target.

That would have been WWIII.

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"][QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

When was the US mainland attacked during the Gulf War?

If you knew Israel's reaction to the Scud launches, you would admire Bush Sr. for keeping them out of the Gulf War.

I don't know if admired is the right word.But yeah-that was the right move on everyone's part.grape_of_wrath

I can understand that.:P

However, Bush the elder did jump through hoops to keep the war from escalating into another Mideast Conflict.

Israel's response to the first Scud attack was to flush every fighter aircraft available. They massed on the border, waiting for the attack order. Bush calmed them down.

The second response was more chilling: a dummy missile (with no warhead) was launched away from all land into the Mediterranean - a signal to Saddam the next one would be live and aimed at Iraq.:o

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

This is the sort of thing you would do in the military, right?

Anyway, that's good news.

topsemag55

Oh, and btw, if you wanted to ask this - yes, I did detect and track actual nuclear test launches done by Russia. One was a land-based ICBM, the other was a SLBM from one of their submarines.

God, made your hair stand up when the alarms went off...we had 60 seconds to generate a launch report that went all the way to the White House, or we were out of a job.

We all prayed the computers wouldn't say that the U.S. (or one of our friends) was the intended target.

That would have been WWIII.

So the US and Russia don't tell each other when they're going to perform tests?

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"] I don't know if admired is the right word.But yeah-that was the right move on everyone's part.topsemag55

I can understand that.:P

However, Bush the elder did jump through hoops to keep the war from escalating into another Mideast Conflict.

Israel's response to the first Scud attack was to flush every fighter aircraft available. They massed on the border, waiting for the attack order. Bush calmed them down.

The second response was more chilling: a dummy missile (with no warhead) was launched away from all land into the Mediterranean - a signal to Saddam the next one would be live and aimed at Iraq.:o

[QUOTE="grape_of_wrath"]For all the good it'll do you guys in a real emergency.I doubt that 'takes care' of any threat from N.korea...topsemag55

N. Korea's missile can reach Hawaii, so it doesn't hurt to have something as a defense.

Better the defense, than a smoldering ruin and the sound of geiger counters going crazy in the background...

Our contingency plan is... everybody dies. Why the hell do you think we have so many nuclear weapons and launching systems? When it's on... IT'S ON! Nobody will win.

So the US and Russia don't tell each other when they're going to perform tests?

SgtKevali

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

topsemag55

He's right, for whoever doubts him. Take it from someone who was part of the USAF Space Command.

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

So the US and Russia don't tell each other when they're going to perform tests?

topsemag55

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

What's their motive in not telling the US? Political points...?

That's pretty good.

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

So the US and Russia don't tell each other when they're going to perform tests?

topsemag55

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

Glad to see it works.

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

airshocker

He's right, for whoever doubts him. Take it from someone who was part of the USAF Space Command.

[QUOTE="topsemag55"]

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

So the US and Russia don't tell each other when they're going to perform tests?

SgtKevali

We do inform Russia, but they (and China) do not tell us about theirs. We have to rely upon our intelligence data.

The reason we tell Russia is because their nuclear defense system is very old - so old, in fact, that it would mistake a satellite falling back into the atmosphere as a nuclear attack (similar trajectory).

If anything in orbit has a 5% or greater chance of surviving reentry and hitting the ground, we always tell Russia where it's going so they won't think they are being attacked. And I'm dead serious.

What's their motive in not telling the US? Political points...?