$400m US space interceptor deal inked Rumour suggests that some parts at least of the controversial US missile-defence programme are doomed, with the axe set to fall as soon as President-Elect Obama takes office. Nonetheless, the last days of 2008 saw a $400m contract award to one of the most controversial missile-defence weapons of them all - the Groundbased …
If either Russia or Iran is trying to hit America the obvious way to throw missiles is over the pole since that's the shortest Great circle route. Radars at Fylingdales, Thule or in Alaska make sense since they are able to look at the tracks side on. GDMs in any of these places don't seem sensible since they're a long way to the side, meaning even bigger missiles are needed and the longer flight time makes a timely response more problematic.
Poland, OTOH, is further off track than Fylingdales or Thule because its further south. GDM missiles would have not only further to go but would have a stern chase, giving lower approach speed and so much less impact energy, which varies as the square of the impact speed.
So I really don't understand the benefit of radar in Poland, let alone putting GDM stuff there. Unless, of course, the real purpose is to piss Putin off and start WW3.
> not to exceed $397,900,000. Under the contract, American aerospace goliath Boeing will "continue development of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program; including Block 3 development and fielding activities for six months...
Looks to me like an under-the-counter off-the-radar hand-out. Faced with competition from Airbus, Boeing gave away their technological crown jewels. The ideological commitment to dollar hegemony, wherein it doesn't matter whether the US makes anything or not, as long as everything everywhere is ultimately referenced by value (excuse the IT oxymoron) in dollars, is taking down Boeing, as it is the car makers. They'd rather you didn't know it just yet.
Since Bush, Cheney and the rest of the Admin believe that war is the only solution to problems this comes as no surprise. However, why are they spending money hand over foot when the economy is supposedly broke? I guess they don't care about anyone else except for themselves and military buddies.
all that weapons grade plutonium falling back into our atmosphere and burning up?
I can't really think of a better way of polluting enormous tracts of Earth with a total biocide. It probably won't even be in recoverable chunks.
Obviously the alternative (a nuclear explosion in a city) isn't much better but at least with boost phase interception the missile debris lands back on the country that launched it.
Here's an idea, how about diplomacy, soft power and deterrence as a means to prevent a rogue state launch?
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