The Briefing Room
General Category => Military/Defense News => Topic started by: DemolitionMan on September 24, 2017, 09:01:19 am
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by Dave Majumdar
If a war were to breakout on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang’s development of long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and its thermonuclear weapons development efforts, the resulting conflict would be catastrophic even if it remained purely conventional. Worse still would be if nuclear weapons were used—which could ultimately escalate into Armageddon.
While the devastation that nuclear weapons can wrought on to cities and other population centers is obvious, the use of tactical nuclear weapons is often overlooked. In the case of Pyongyang using tactical nuclear weapons to defeat a U.S.-led military intervention, American and allied forces might suffer more damage than many might expect—particularly from the effects of electromagnetic pulses (EMPs) generated by such weapons. EMPs can do serious damage of electrical systems that are not specifically hardened to withstand such events. Indeed, U.S. forces are particularly vulnerable due to America’s reliance on networks and advanced sensor system—many of which were developed after the end of the Cold War.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/emp-north-koreas-ultimate-weapon-against-america-22182
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HARDTACK-Teak was an exoatmospheric high altitude nuclear weapon test performed during Operation Hardtack I. It was launched from Johnston Island on a Redstone missile.The 3.8 megaton detonation was planned to occur at an altitude of 250,000 feet approximately six miles south of Johnston Island. However, due to a programming failure it burst directly over the island at the desired elevation making the island the effective ground-zero. This brought the explosion 2,000 feet (approximately 2/5ths of a mile) nearer than intended to the launch site control and analysis crews.It produced an EMP effect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLbyY76zt9w