American GBI kills ICBM in Successful Test
Details reported in Closing Velocity (http://closingvelocity.typepad.com/closing_velocity/2008/12/mark-india-mark.html)
And at the end of the day, our hit-to-kill record improves to 37 out of 47 since 2001.
In other words, our ballistic-missile defense capability is now above 75% per shot. The GBI is the class of missile being deployed to Poland (in a 2-stage version). This is an emplaced system relying on major bases and massive radars, and thus not easily portable.
However, this does have implications for the coming Indo-Pakistani war. Modules of this technology (specifically the Aegis elements) could be used from warships to help stop a surviving Pakistani launch after an Indian pre-emptive strike, which is encouraging. The Pakistanis only have SRBM's and IRBM's, which is also encouraging -- we gained the ability to down SRBM's in the 1990's with the advanced Patriots and IRBM's in the early 2000's. We might also be able to deploy ABL's to shoot down Pakistani missiles in the boost phase.
America increasingly seems to be accepting that we are on the Indian side in this conflict, and one positive thing we can do is keep down the Good Guy death toll while testing our ABM systems.
As for the Pakis -- Mumbai Quarter!
And at the end of the day, our hit-to-kill record improves to 37 out of 47 since 2001.
In other words, our ballistic-missile defense capability is now above 75% per shot. The GBI is the class of missile being deployed to Poland (in a 2-stage version). This is an emplaced system relying on major bases and massive radars, and thus not easily portable.
However, this does have implications for the coming Indo-Pakistani war. Modules of this technology (specifically the Aegis elements) could be used from warships to help stop a surviving Pakistani launch after an Indian pre-emptive strike, which is encouraging. The Pakistanis only have SRBM's and IRBM's, which is also encouraging -- we gained the ability to down SRBM's in the 1990's with the advanced Patriots and IRBM's in the early 2000's. We might also be able to deploy ABL's to shoot down Pakistani missiles in the boost phase.
America increasingly seems to be accepting that we are on the Indian side in this conflict, and one positive thing we can do is keep down the Good Guy death toll while testing our ABM systems.
As for the Pakis -- Mumbai Quarter!