Putin has hypersonic missiles now…

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/russia-deploys-first-hypersonic-missiles-nuclear-capable

Having spent a childhood visiting granddad’s house at the end of Waddington runway, the whole nuclear war thing was very real.

Of course the real question is what would you do with your last minute…?

Make love. Twelve times.

Of course the real question is what would you do with your last minute…?

Curse e-bikers.

Find a comfy chair.

Does anyone else remember the practise run of the sirens every Friday afternoon?

Always chilling to think that within 5 minutes you and your friends would cease to exist or die slowly and horribly.

All so some rich bastards could get richer or more powerful.

The Avangard is launched on top of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but, unlike a regular missile warhead, which follows a predictable path after separation, it can make sharp manoeuvres en route to its target, making it harder to intercept.

Which means you’ll get just as much warning as from a conventional missile, which is also hypersonic. Only difference is this one can evade missile defences, which barely work under ideal test conditions and are only deployed around strategically important targets. My house isn’t strategically important so makes no difference to me.

There are some experts who claim Russia is faking the capabilities of the Avangard missile to encourage USA to bankrupt itself as the USSR did when trying to play catch up in the 80’s.

Epicycle: I remember them during the 60s. Worked in centre of Bradford and we heard them wailing away fairly regularly. Some people did look to the skies but basically everyone just carried on normally!

There are some experts who claim Russia is faking the capabilities of the Avangard missile to encourage USA to bankrupt itself as the USSR did when trying to play catch up in the 80’s.

Damn stupid Commies, they obviously don’t understand that the U.S. is bankrupting itself borrowing money to buy useless consumer crap from China.

Worked in centre of Bradford and we heard them wailing away fairly regularly. Some people did look to the skies but basically everyone just carried on normally!

I heard that Bradford actually got nuked a couple of times, but nobody noticed.

My Uncle was a lead developer in the Nuclear Arms industry. He sold up and moved from Lossiemouth to the Middle East where the money was.

TrueDat.

Blame him if you like.

My Uncle was a lead developer in the Nuclear Arms industry.

Did you have to work your way up the periodic table before you got to develop uranium and then plutonium?

Did you have to work your way up the periodic table before you got to develop uranium and then plutonium?

Very good!

Did you have to work your way up the periodic table before you got to develop uranium and then plutonium?

The sad git in me had to check it wasn’t down the table, looks like it’s across.

As if the world isn’t M.A.D. enough. Cant they keep to looking at facebook, seems to be more effective at destabalising nations.

Some alternative names for the missile I’ve come up with:
Srrealst
Dd
Cbst
Batniks
Sitonits
Fuxus

There are some experts who claim Russia is faking the capabilities of the Avangard missile to encourage USA to bankrupt itself as the USSR did when trying to play catch up in the 80’s.

Well, Russia doesn’t have the money to develop sophisticated weaponry like the Americans or Chinese, and there’s no real outside corroboration of its performance or accuracy, afaik, although, having said that, American observers were allowed to be there as part of the weapons treaty.
And the Chinese are, at the moment, unable to produce a high-performance jet engine for their stealth jet either.
As far as hypersonic weapons go, it doesn’t even have to have an explosive component – give the device enough mass and velocity, and the kinetic energy is enough to cause considerable damage. Drop something in from orbit, at orbital velocity, around 17,000 mph, and you’re talking significant urban reorganisation…

CountZero
and you’re talking significant urban reorganisation

Euphemism of the year….

Of course the real question is what would you do with your last minute…?

Start a religion thread on STW surely?

you’re talking significant urban reorganisation

I think “dehousing” is the technical term.

Struggle to see how hypersonic missiles are anything to worry about more so than ICBM’s which are faster and much more devastating with multiple warheads deploying in low earth orbit with the ability to hit targets over a much larger ground area. So fake news methinks.

Conventional missiles hit Mach 4 as it is so Mach 5 is no significant improvement in performance.

Also on the basis that something like a third of Russia’s conventional guided cruise missiles didn’t reach their target when they kicked off in Syria then the chances are missiles launched would’nt reach their targets.

I’ve lived all the 48 years of my life within sight of faslane / coulport. I became aware of what that meant in the mid 80’s… Quite a few sleepless nights as a confused teenager, the Smiths didn’t help 🤣

My conclusion… Out with my control. No point sweating want I can’t change. The fact that I would have been vapourised was actually a positive!

Struggle to see how hypersonic missiles are anything to worry about more so than ICBM’s which are faster and much more devastating with multiple warheads deploying in low earth orbit with the ability to hit targets over a much larger ground area. So fake news methinks.

Conventional missiles hit Mach 4 as it is so Mach 5 is no significant improvement in performance.

Also on the basis that something like a third of Russia’s conventional guided cruise missiles didn’t reach their target when they kicked off in Syria then the chances are missiles launched would’nt reach their targets.

Read the story again.

1) The missiles in question are mach 24.

2) The missiles are deployed via a conventional ICBM replacing the MIRVs inside.

3) The point of the missile isn’t accuracy, it’s agility to get past any missile defence system.

4) Accurate or not, 2 megatons is still going to be a bad news day wherever it hits.

Putin is a bloody nut job. Never mind that prat in Pyongyang, he is determined to be the next great Soviet leader. This is just another tick in the box after Posiedon and his cobalt bombs.

1) The missiles in question are mach 24.

Mach 27, according to the articl.

2) The missiles are deployed via a conventional ICBM replacing the MIRVs inside.

Which means that warning times will be the same as for an ICBM launch.

3) The point of the missile isn’t accuracy, it’s agility to get past any missile defence system.

Missile defence systems barely work under ideal test conditions, targeting a single missile on a predetermined trajectory. They would be almost completely ineffective in the face of hundreds of ICBMs.

Putin is a bloody nut job.

He’s also a bit desperate for some good news to prove that pissing off the West wasn’t a colossal strategic blunder. His claims about Russian military might are massively exaggerated. The fancy new toys he shows off seem to be mostly prototypes that are years from operational service, if they ever actually do enter service. This missile doesn’t make any difference to the strategic balance.

Cant they keep to looking at facebook, seems to be more effective at destabalising nations.

Way cheaper and no blowback 🙂

What’s also interesting is you can start stuff off and other people will jump on and carry the torch for you, so you may have to do very little.

Is Putin just pushing Trumps buttons?

Used to work with a guy like that. He’d join a group of us chatting, say something contentious and then step back and watch what happened. Regardless of the fact that it was never factual, and barely believable, people couldn’t help but bite.

I’d say once it’s course is set that’s it. There’s no such thing as a sharp turn at that speed.
Your defences time to react will be based on launcher launch then fast missile separation.

I’d say sit back and watch the fireworks there’s not much else you can do.

Which means that warning times will be the same as for an ICBM launch.

AFAIK warning times are dependant on confirmation of launch which isn’t until the separation stage anyway. Unless you somehow got lucky and saw them being launched.

Missile defence systems barely work under ideal test conditions, targeting a single missile on a predetermined trajectory. They would be almost completely ineffective in the face of hundreds of ICBMs.

I’m aware of that however assuming they could be made to work this is just another problem.

I’d say once it’s course is set that’s it. There’s no such thing as a sharp turn at that speed.

True, but a course change of few degrees, depending on altitude, would knacker any chances of a successful intercept.

As you say though there’s very little anyone on the ground could do about it.

Mach 27, according to the articl.

You spelled that worng. 😛 (that’s what I get for not re-reading it)

Putin is a bloody nut job. Never mind that prat in Pyongyang, he is determined to be the next great Soviet leader. This is just another tick in the box after Posiedon and his cobalt bombs.

No, he isn’t – he’s trying to recreate Imperial Russia, a period when he feels Russia was at its greatest, and with him as Tsar. Simple as that.

Of course the real question is what would you do with your last minute…?

Walk out of my office and into the nuclear bunker over the road.

Which means that warning times will be the same as for an ICBM launch.

4 mins then, leaving me two minutes to do the quick crossword too

AFAIK warning times are dependant on confirmation of launch which isn’t until the separation stage anyway. Unless you somehow got lucky and saw them being launched.

The missile warning satellites are infrared based and detect launch blooms IIRC. Given these are ICBM launched I wouldn’t worry about us (*the US) not detecting one – besides, a single ICBM launch is very unlikely from Russia – it’s going to be a decapitating strike or nothing, otherwise, what’s the point? I mean there is no point anyway as the SLBMs would obliterate Russia 25 minutes later anyway…. (which is why land based ICBMs are pointless).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Support_Program

As many people have said above, the missile defence systems in development / sort of deployed are not aimed at Russia anyway – they’d not have a chance against Russian ICBMs which are full of decoys anyway. With a lot of luck and a following wind they’d have a chance against a NK ICBM but that’s about it – and given they’d probably spot it fuelling it on the launch pad anyway, i’d expect they’d send a plane from SK to get it before it left the ground.

guy like that. He’d join a group of us chatting, say something contentious and then step back and watch what happened. Regardless of the fact that it was never factual, and barely believable, people couldn’t help but bite.

Erm… just like on here then 🤡

And my Uncle, well he’s retired now and is a wealthy man indeed.

BOOM!