Study: US missile defense plans based on ‘technical myths’

US missile defense plans are based on "technical myths" and interceptors have mostly failed to knock out incoming warheads in military tests, a new study argues.

Two American scientists reviewed 10 tests of the SM-3 "kill vehicle," designed to take out ballistic missiles, and concluded that the interceptor succeeded in directly hitting mock warheads in only one or two cases.

"This means that, in real combat, the warhead would have not been destroyed but would have continued toward the target and detonated in eight or nine of the 10 SM-3 experimental tests," wrote George Lewis of Cornell University and Theodore Postol of MIT in the latest issue of "Arms Control Today."

The Pentagon had described the tests between 2002 to 2009 as successful.

Well now's a good time to be bashing on the missile defense program. Especially with Obama mentioning it as a method of countering Iran's missiles allowing for us to scale back our nukes (which I never quite believe we'll really due but we'll see.) Either way spouting about how crappy our missile defense systems are probably isn't the best idea in deterring our enemies.

Source

[edit on 18-5-2010 by Vicious Jones]

reply to post by Vicious Jones


Until I see a nuke detonated myself, they are more of a myth to me. I find it amazing that people on either side never say, "Hey why isn't the president down here fighting with me in the trenches" "Why at the end of every war are all my brothers dead, but these "diplomats" are shaking hands and signing papers....Why aren't the presidents having a dual to the death?"

I vote, NO MORE WARS unless our leaders are the first ones to shoot at each other (then we just sneak out the back until they have done each other in then we plug the oil hole up with their dead remains and start a new planet. I'm tired of earth, let's name it something cool like Xanadu or Planet-O face or Catman or Planet Steve...anything, just not New Earth.

Anyway I believe no TV, No Nukes(weapons)....Second don't exist without the first.

Pay attention to anything the Gov. calls a "TEST", because it is a test to see if you will believe it.

There is a reason GE owns NBC and so on and so forth. All the media outlets are owned by defense contractors.

We really are serfs....wow

Peace

Even during the 1991 Gulf War, Israel-based Patriot missile systems failed to shoot down Saddam's scuds packed with conventional warheads from hitting Israel.

The Israeli casualty rate was kept a secret to avoid giving Saddam Hussien pleasure.

The problems of missile-based defense systems was already a known fact to armies worth a second thought, but the propaganda value to uninformed citizens were priceless, literally.

Bottom line... it doesn't bloody work!

But, as long as they can keep convincing the dumb taxpayers that they are providing a good system that will save everyone from the current bogeyman, they'll just keep signing the cheques to the military hardware suppliers.

Of course, at the first sign of anything brown and smelly hitting the proverbial rotating blades, those that bought the system and told us all it was so good will be sitting under a mountain, NOT topside with those that paid for the crap!