Pyongyang challenge: Should US shoot Kim’s missiles down?

[ABX]

With North Korea threatening to send a salvo of ballistic missiles close to Guam, a U.S. military hub in the Pacific, pressure could grow for Washington to put its multibillion-dollar missile defense system into use and shoot them out of the air.

If U.S. territory is threatened, countermeasures are a no-brainer. But if the missiles aren’t expected to hit the island — the stated goal is to have them hit waters well offshore — should it? Could it?

It’s not an easy call.....

https://apnews.com/839865501c6e4d8084c5f5258fb7f656/Pyongyang-challenge:-Should-US-shoot-Kim's-missiles-down?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP

[dfwgator]

You mean all the liberals who cry like little bitches when a drop of oil goes in the sea are ok with a nuke hitting the ocean?

[ABX]

You mean all the liberals who cry like little bitches when a drop of oil goes in the sea are ok with a nuke hitting the ocean?

The bigger counter concerns here are if they are shot down over another territory or worse, if we miss (we are batting 50 right now on tests) if it would embolden Lil'Kim to continue to shoot. That is weighed with his bad track record so far at guidance.

The article makes good points and counter points both ways.

[edpc]

You mean all the liberals who cry like little bitches when a drop of oil goes in the sea are ok with a nuke hitting the ocean?

Between the lost subs and bombers since the 1950s, plenty have hit land and sea.

[skeeter]

There was a time when a hostile power launching ICBMs in the general direction of US territory would've been an easy call.

[edpc]

There was a time when a hostile power launching ICBMs in the general direction of US territory would've been an easy call.

It's still is. That is why the North Koreans have chosen their trajectory and missile types carefully in these tests.  Back when there was initial musing of military options over the Iranian nuclear program, Rumsfeld gave an interview about potential use of SLBMs with conventional warheads striking hardened targets.  The Russians said that could be misconstrued by the wrong people and wasn't a good idea.  It wasn't disused publicly afterwards.

[kidd]

First of all, we need to thank Ronald Reagan for even having this option.

Second, the worst thing would be to do nothing. North Korea is well aware of the success rate of our ability to shoot down missiles and will not be encouraged or discouraged from our success or failure. The key is to demonstrate that we are willing to use the technology and to learn from its use. The United States HAS to let it be known that, since North Korea has announced its intentions to target a population, any launch from this point further will be considered an act of war. Trump MUST make this clear.

Third, if we wish to protect our intelligence on anti-missile missile technology, we would need to take out North Korean tracking abilities between the time of launch and the intercept attempt. Also, each missile that we intend to intercept must also be accompanied by a strike on its launch site...which we have a great success rate for.

[driftdiver]

First of all, we need to thank Ronald Reagan for even having this option.

Second, the worst thing would be to do nothing. North Korea is well aware of the success rate of our ability to shoot down missiles and will not be encouraged or discouraged from our success or failure. The key is to demonstrate that we are willing to use the technology and to learn from its use. The United States HAS to let it be known that, since North Korea has announced its intentions to target a population, any launch from this point further will be considered an act of war. Trump MUST make this clear.

Third, if we wish to protect our intelligence on anti-missile missile technology, we would need to take out North Korean tracking abilities between the time of launch and the intercept attempt. Also, each missile that we intend to intercept must also be accompanied by a strike on its launch site...which we have a great success rate for.

Personally I kinda doubt the intelligence is worth all that much right now.  Heck the Chinese had an engineer working on the B2 program.   I'd imagine they had some working on these programs too.

[catfish1957]

More than anything, I hope everyone now realizes that the Chicoms are and have been by far the biggest enemy and threat to our country.

Their claim to defend this despot just ices the cake.

[edpc]

Third, if we wish to protect our intelligence on anti-missile missile technology, we would need to take out North Korean tracking abilities between the time of launch and the intercept attempt. Also, each missile that we intend to intercept must also be accompanied by a strike on its launch site...which we have a great success rate for.

Their ability to gather data from our systems is rudimentary, at best.  They won't know what their missiles hit or if they were intercepted until they see it on CNN.  The Chinese and Russians, on the other hand, will be keenly interested in and able to monitor the details.

[kidd]

Their ability to gather data from our systems is rudimentary, at best.  They won't know what their missiles hit or if they were intercepted until they see it on CNN.  The Chinese and Russians, on the other hand, will be keenly interested in and able to monitor the details.

Probably correct.

Perhaps a low-tech solution is appropriate. Target the re-entry phase by launching and dispersing a few hundred pounds of gravel in front of the incoming re-entry vehicle. A single nick in the ablation shield will cause it to burn up.

[NavyCanDo]

If Liberals didn't stand in the way of Reagan's anti-missile plan which they and the liberal media gave the name "Star Wars" to make it something to laugh about, we wouldn't be having this discussion about this little despot threatening us.


Reagan's idea, be it technological breakthroughs using lasers, or more conventional anti-missile missiles could have made ICBMs obsolete by now. Why fire one if it cant reach its target? That would have lead to a Nuke disarmament we could all get behind.  Now that the threat is real, (very real) we are playing catch-up with no time on the clock.