Russia outwitted U.S. strategic defenses with missile test

[thundley4]

MOSCOW, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - The United States was unable to detect the presence of Russian strategic submarines in the Arctic before they test-launched two ballistic missiles, a Russian intelligence source said on Wednesday.
Russia carried out test launches of two Sineva intercontinental ballistic missiles from two Delta IV class nuclear-powered submarines, located near the North Pole, on July 13-14.
"The American radars certainly detected the missile launches but their location took them by surprise," the source said.
The first missile, flying a ballistic path, hit its designated target at the Kura testing grounds on the Kamchatka Peninsula, while the second, fired with a flat trajectory, destroyed a target at the Chizha testing site on the White Sea.
The source said that the launch area, covered by ice floe, was heavily patrolled by Russian attack submarines and the Americans were unable to detect the arrival of two strategic submarines before the launch.
"At the same time, U.S. reconnaissance satellites are unable to detect submarines under thick ice floe in the Arctic," he said.
The region around the North Pole is a perfect place for launches of ballistic missiles because it allows the submarines to arrive in a designated area undetected and to shorten the missile flight time to the target.
The RSM-54 Sineva (NATO designation SS-N-23 Skiff) is a third-generation liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.
Russia plans to equip its Delta IV class submarines with at least 100 Sineva missiles.

http://en.rian.ru/mlitary_news/20090715/155530936.html

Does anyone remember hearing about this?

[Eupher]

Nope, first I've heard of it.

[Chris_]

And given what Big Brøtha has done to the section of missile defense I was working on at the beginning of the year, the Russkies could be mistaken: this could have been completely un-noticed by the Øbumbler in Chief.  After all, his attention is currently fixated on the more immediate threat to his power - his "internal enemies".

[thundley4]

Nope, first I've heard of it.

I thought maybe I had missed it when it happened, which considering how much time I spend online reading news would be kind of strange. 

[RightCoast]

The RSM-54 Sineva (NATO designation SS-N-23 Skiff) is a third-generation liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four or 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.
Russia plans to equip its Delta IV class submarines with at least 100 Sineva missiles

.

Good thing barack is getting rid of the world's nukes...

[DumbAss Tanker]

If we had technology the Russkiis didn't know about that detected them, or intel about it, we sure as Hell wouldn't be telling them the story was wrong now.

[thundley4]

If we had technology the Russkiis didn't know about that detected them, or intel about it, we sure as Hell wouldn't be telling them the story was wrong now.

I would almost agree with that, but, if any Dem congressman had known about it, then the New York Slimes would have known .

[Deuce]

It's all kind of a moot point anyway. Once the missile leaves the bay it's too late. Either you sink the sub before it launches or you watch the fireball. We might detect the sub, but there are other delivery methods. Both us and the Russians have enough nukes to obliterate eachother ten times over. Missile defense systems are basically irrelevant considering the sheer volume of incoming warheads and the technological challenges of hitting a target moving more than 10,000mph.

Wiki on our Trident missiles.

When the third stage motor fires, within two minutes of launch, the missile is traveling faster than 20,000 ft/s (6,000 m/s), or 13,600 mph (21,600 km/h).

They're just too *******ed fast. And one missile can split into multiple incoming warheads. There are quite a few technological breakthroughs to make before a real safety net is remotely feasible. I actually support canceling our current ABM programs - firing a rocket to hit another rocket at such extreme speed, distance, and altitude is an extremely difficult undertaking. Firing hundreds of rockets to hit hundreds of rockets (successfully) is impossible. Closure rates between interceptor and target would be like 6-7 miles per second. At that speed, you have to account for the clock cycle on the processor that handles guidance or you might miss by hundreds of feet.

Missile defense works for North Korea or Iran's little medium range stuff, but if the United States or Russia decides to end the world right now, the technology does not exist to stop them.

I'm not sure even lasers are going to be able to cross that gap. We can hit small, slower moving stuff with lasers at long range pretty easily, but the speeds we're talking about here mean you have to have extremely accurate tracking equipment. We'll need great leaps in laser output as well as computing/tracking technology. And once you do that, I'm sure someone's going to figure out how to slap a laser-resistant coating on the missile and we're back to the drawing board.

Reading about these things is both fun and scary...