They do have a delivery system, two, actually. The first is their ICBM program, that, while shaky, could be operational in the next couple of years. They might even have enough done, at this point, to be able to reach Hawaii, though that's doubtful.
The second is much more nefarious and more difficult to protect against, and that's a shipping container, on its way into port, before its been scanned for NBC agents by US Customs. While they likely haven't been able to miniaturize a warhead and get a fully tested and operational ICBM into production, the latter delivery choice is pretty damn simple.
Most definitely. There were different times when it seemed like it had, and perhaps had, but I think at each phase, scientists were in disagreement upon what actually constitutes the edge of the solar system. I believe now, they're (at least mostly) completely in agreement.
Missile defense test targets are launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, not from Vandenberg. Vandenberg is used for traditional missile systems testing, with a dummy warhead, and no THAAD/Aegis/GMD defensive testing. Also, when missile defense targets are launched, they don't use Minuteman III missiles, as they make up the current land-based nuclear deterrent force, they use mocked up missiles or decommissioned separating missiles that were part of the land-based force in the past.
Actually, the entirety of the bomb casing is completely water and airtight, so the detonators would be included within that casing, and would not be susceptible to corrosion, had they been inserted into the casing. The official testimony on this is that the nuclear capsule was not inserted into the bomb itself, thus, it could not be detonated as a nuclear weapon. Of course, if the high explosives were to detonate, it would still be a 'dirty bomb' of sorts.
The most important part of this is that if the bomb were found, a large amount of knowledge could be gleaned about bomb design and warhead miniaturization. The Mark 15 bomb weighs about 7600 pounds, which is small enough that a rogue nation like Iran or North Korea could launch it a great distance with a 1.5 - 3.8 megaton nuclear yield. That's pretty important stuff.
On a trip to Savannah last year, as we were passing Tybee Island, I told my wife about this. She had absolutely zero idea that this had ever happened, and couldn't believe that there isn't more being done to find the bomb. Frankly, I'm in the same boat as her, though Charleston would at least be out of the initial blast radius!
Because it helps to defend the millions of people in the US and abroad that depend on our military being the tool of US foreign policy, denying dictators and despots the ability to inflict harm on US and allied interests? Maybe that it employs somewhere between 6 and 8 million US citizens. Perhaps because the sales of the top 25 defense industry companies accounts for $240 billion of the US economy, and that there are several thousand smaller defense industry partners that account for another large chunk?
But yeah, defending people and keeping an economy going is less noble than whatever shit job you have.
No doubt, but there's still general training (not combat sorties style) that requires midair refueling, so tanker crews are getting their training in, as well.
The government will surplus some military equipment, such as old computers, older vehicles (HMMWV, 2.5 ton trucks), or survival gear, but they do not sell aircraft to most citizens.
Of course, Russia would be happy to do so, but good luck getting the FAA to allow you to fly in most US airspace.
Garbage services make a crapload of money, and many of them, even in small towns, are unionized. Big box stores and shopping malls don't use illegal immigrants for the simple fact that they're too big for a scandal, and most require background checks for any of their employees. Fast food? Different story, with the exception of larger chains, like McDonald's and Burger King. Landscaping? Same thing.
The importance of supercheap immigrant labor is vastly overstated in this country, and the drain on the economy from anchor services is far understated. The only real industry that would feel a pinch would be citrus and vegetable farming on the west coast. It's likely that the glut of migrant workers offer exceptionally cheap, unskilled labor, is an artificial means to reduce the use of technology in harvesting products. The dearth of that labor might increase technology and drive the cost of food down even further.
Do you actually think that the government is in the business of selling off its weapons systems? Sure, after World War II, when the military made a huge leap to jet powered aircraft, they sold P-51s and the like in droves, and many are still flown today. Others, like B-17s, B-24s, etc, were purchased by heritage groups that want to continue flying them for history's sake. That said, post-WWII, it's very rare that something like a F-4 makes its way to private hands, and it's damn near impossible for anything that's near current, or even as new as the 1970s (F-16, F-15) to make it into private flight. Much of that stuff gets stuck at Davis Monthan AFB (The Bone Yard), is destroyed outright (F-14s, for fear that Iran would obtain spare parts), or is donated to museums with all flight controls disabled.
The flyovers are typically done as part of routine training hours flights. Pilots and their air crews are required to spend a minimum number of hours in the air, to keep up with their training requirements. This includes fighter pilots, as well as bomber and cargo aircraft pilots. That's why sometimes you'll get a formation of F-16s, and sometimes it'll be a lone B-52. The flyovers might be 1/100th of what a typical training flight would include.
Going to airshows and military installations as a kid inspired me to try to go to the Naval Academy, in the hopes that I could fly. As it turned out, I couldn't get the Congressional appointment that's required, and it's nigh on impossible to fly if you didn't go to a service academy, so here I am, building weapons systems for the military to use, rather than actually using them.
They're a great recruiting tool, and they help to inspire legions of young men and women to join the armed forces when they're older.
The idea is that the electrical power requirements of future search radars (SPY evolution, AMDR) as well as directed energy and projectile weapons (this laser, a railgun) will require far more power than is currently available. The current SPY-1D(V) uses about 6 Megawatts of power for normal operations (from Wikipedia) and it's likely much more when conducting dual pattern anti-air warfare searches, as well as ballistic missile defense searches. To keep up with that demand, they need a system that can deliver a whole heaping amount of power. Further, they'd prefer to have more maneuverable vessels, like the new LCS ships, that utilize waterjets, rather than traditional mechanical propellers, like the Burkes and Ticos do. Decoupling the power generation (CODOG/Nuclear/Diesel) from the actual motive parts (electric motors) makes a lot of sense.
Let's just hope they don't use Windows 8 for the power management computers.
They use Windows NT. No, I'm serious.
No, they don't. DoD Information Assurance Security Technical Implementation Guides do not allow non-supported OS releases, especially not on in-service shipboard systems. The oldest version of Windows that would be used aboard a US Navy ship is Server 2003, and that's only two years from the end of extended support. Any shipboard system that uses it will be in the process of upgrading to Server 2008, at a minimum.
Most, if not all shipboard missile systems utilize solid fueled rockets. We also don't use magazines full of gunpowder any longer, as naval bombardment munitions are stored as 'shells'. The bigger issues are diesel fuel and jet fuel stored aboard ships.
More likely, they realize that this isn't ready for prime-time, so they don't want it on a frontline combatant, just in case it really doesn't work. They'll use the Ponce as a technology demonstrator when it's in an anti-piracy group with other major combatants that can back it up, should the laser system fail. Course, they'd prefer to lose a 50 year old, ready to be decommissioned amphib ship, rather than a new-ish Burke or Tico.
In the case of the Cole, not likely. In-port ship self defense regs were very lax back then, and even in a port with potential hostiles, the threat envelope wasn't taken seriously. Again with the Stark, probably not. The Exocet flies faster than this is likely to be able to track and engage. The fire control radar likely isn't fast enough to complete a fire control solution against the incoming threat, and the laser likely won't be able to do enough damage to the missile before it hits. That said, this is clearly a technology demonstrator, as it's not being outfitted on a Burke, Tico, or Nimitz, the real workhorses of the fleet. They'll use this for sporadic engagements when they're sure they've got sufficient redundancy to eliminate any threat where the laser system isn't effective.
The Navy doesn't use guns to shoot down aircraft any longer, they use missiles, specifically, SM-2 and SM-6 missiles from AEGIS Cruisers and Destroyers. Those missiles can also be used to shoot down cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles. The CIWS (Phalanx) is used for close-in defense against missiles as an absolute last resort, but that capability is largely being moved to Rolling Airframe Missiles. To wit, the latest ships to come out of design in the US do not have Phalanx, they have RAM. I'm not sure if the Flight III Burke Destroyers will have RAM or Phalanx, but I'd expect they'd scrap Phalanx.
RedHawk requires a LOT of packages as prereqs, to run properly. We pared that down quite a bit, but the ccur kernel is HUGE, and there's no getting around what's required by their real time software.
Slashdot Mirror
They do have a delivery system, two, actually. The first is their ICBM program, that, while shaky, could be operational in the next couple of years. They might even have enough done, at this point, to be able to reach Hawaii, though that's doubtful.
The second is much more nefarious and more difficult to protect against, and that's a shipping container, on its way into port, before its been scanned for NBC agents by US Customs. While they likely haven't been able to miniaturize a warhead and get a fully tested and operational ICBM into production, the latter delivery choice is pretty damn simple.
Most definitely. There were different times when it seemed like it had, and perhaps had, but I think at each phase, scientists were in disagreement upon what actually constitutes the edge of the solar system. I believe now, they're (at least mostly) completely in agreement.
Very cool, though!
Missile defense test targets are launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, not from Vandenberg. Vandenberg is used for traditional missile systems testing, with a dummy warhead, and no THAAD/Aegis/GMD defensive testing. Also, when missile defense targets are launched, they don't use Minuteman III missiles, as they make up the current land-based nuclear deterrent force, they use mocked up missiles or decommissioned separating missiles that were part of the land-based force in the past.
Actually, the entirety of the bomb casing is completely water and airtight, so the detonators would be included within that casing, and would not be susceptible to corrosion, had they been inserted into the casing. The official testimony on this is that the nuclear capsule was not inserted into the bomb itself, thus, it could not be detonated as a nuclear weapon. Of course, if the high explosives were to detonate, it would still be a 'dirty bomb' of sorts.
The most important part of this is that if the bomb were found, a large amount of knowledge could be gleaned about bomb design and warhead miniaturization. The Mark 15 bomb weighs about 7600 pounds, which is small enough that a rogue nation like Iran or North Korea could launch it a great distance with a 1.5 - 3.8 megaton nuclear yield. That's pretty important stuff.
On a trip to Savannah last year, as we were passing Tybee Island, I told my wife about this. She had absolutely zero idea that this had ever happened, and couldn't believe that there isn't more being done to find the bomb. Frankly, I'm in the same boat as her, though Charleston would at least be out of the initial blast radius!
For the same reason that the commenting system doesn't stop spam bots from getting through, and talking about MyCleanPC and Hosts files!
Because it helps to defend the millions of people in the US and abroad that depend on our military being the tool of US foreign policy, denying dictators and despots the ability to inflict harm on US and allied interests? Maybe that it employs somewhere between 6 and 8 million US citizens. Perhaps because the sales of the top 25 defense industry companies accounts for $240 billion of the US economy, and that there are several thousand smaller defense industry partners that account for another large chunk?
But yeah, defending people and keeping an economy going is less noble than whatever shit job you have.
No doubt, but there's still general training (not combat sorties style) that requires midair refueling, so tanker crews are getting their training in, as well.
Allies, governments, yes. Private citizens, no.
The government will surplus some military equipment, such as old computers, older vehicles (HMMWV, 2.5 ton trucks), or survival gear, but they do not sell aircraft to most citizens.
Of course, Russia would be happy to do so, but good luck getting the FAA to allow you to fly in most US airspace.
If I had any modpoints (and hadn't commented in this thread) I'd mod you up, simply for your signature. All hail the brain slug!
Jesus Christ! Finally, a sane, rational thought! THANK YOU!!!
Garbage services make a crapload of money, and many of them, even in small towns, are unionized. Big box stores and shopping malls don't use illegal immigrants for the simple fact that they're too big for a scandal, and most require background checks for any of their employees. Fast food? Different story, with the exception of larger chains, like McDonald's and Burger King. Landscaping? Same thing.
The importance of supercheap immigrant labor is vastly overstated in this country, and the drain on the economy from anchor services is far understated. The only real industry that would feel a pinch would be citrus and vegetable farming on the west coast. It's likely that the glut of migrant workers offer exceptionally cheap, unskilled labor, is an artificial means to reduce the use of technology in harvesting products. The dearth of that labor might increase technology and drive the cost of food down even further.
Do you actually think that the government is in the business of selling off its weapons systems? Sure, after World War II, when the military made a huge leap to jet powered aircraft, they sold P-51s and the like in droves, and many are still flown today. Others, like B-17s, B-24s, etc, were purchased by heritage groups that want to continue flying them for history's sake. That said, post-WWII, it's very rare that something like a F-4 makes its way to private hands, and it's damn near impossible for anything that's near current, or even as new as the 1970s (F-16, F-15) to make it into private flight. Much of that stuff gets stuck at Davis Monthan AFB (The Bone Yard), is destroyed outright (F-14s, for fear that Iran would obtain spare parts), or is donated to museums with all flight controls disabled.
The flyovers are typically done as part of routine training hours flights. Pilots and their air crews are required to spend a minimum number of hours in the air, to keep up with their training requirements. This includes fighter pilots, as well as bomber and cargo aircraft pilots. That's why sometimes you'll get a formation of F-16s, and sometimes it'll be a lone B-52. The flyovers might be 1/100th of what a typical training flight would include.
Going to airshows and military installations as a kid inspired me to try to go to the Naval Academy, in the hopes that I could fly. As it turned out, I couldn't get the Congressional appointment that's required, and it's nigh on impossible to fly if you didn't go to a service academy, so here I am, building weapons systems for the military to use, rather than actually using them.
They're a great recruiting tool, and they help to inspire legions of young men and women to join the armed forces when they're older.
The idea is that the electrical power requirements of future search radars (SPY evolution, AMDR) as well as directed energy and projectile weapons (this laser, a railgun) will require far more power than is currently available. The current SPY-1D(V) uses about 6 Megawatts of power for normal operations (from Wikipedia) and it's likely much more when conducting dual pattern anti-air warfare searches, as well as ballistic missile defense searches. To keep up with that demand, they need a system that can deliver a whole heaping amount of power. Further, they'd prefer to have more maneuverable vessels, like the new LCS ships, that utilize waterjets, rather than traditional mechanical propellers, like the Burkes and Ticos do. Decoupling the power generation (CODOG/Nuclear/Diesel) from the actual motive parts (electric motors) makes a lot of sense.
Let's just hope they don't use Windows 8 for the power management computers.
They use Windows NT. No, I'm serious.
No, they don't. DoD Information Assurance Security Technical Implementation Guides do not allow non-supported OS releases, especially not on in-service shipboard systems. The oldest version of Windows that would be used aboard a US Navy ship is Server 2003, and that's only two years from the end of extended support. Any shipboard system that uses it will be in the process of upgrading to Server 2008, at a minimum.
Most, if not all shipboard missile systems utilize solid fueled rockets. We also don't use magazines full of gunpowder any longer, as naval bombardment munitions are stored as 'shells'. The bigger issues are diesel fuel and jet fuel stored aboard ships.
More likely, they realize that this isn't ready for prime-time, so they don't want it on a frontline combatant, just in case it really doesn't work. They'll use the Ponce as a technology demonstrator when it's in an anti-piracy group with other major combatants that can back it up, should the laser system fail. Course, they'd prefer to lose a 50 year old, ready to be decommissioned amphib ship, rather than a new-ish Burke or Tico.
I'm sorry, but what stealth jet has been brought down with mobile phone technology?
In the case of the Cole, not likely. In-port ship self defense regs were very lax back then, and even in a port with potential hostiles, the threat envelope wasn't taken seriously. Again with the Stark, probably not. The Exocet flies faster than this is likely to be able to track and engage. The fire control radar likely isn't fast enough to complete a fire control solution against the incoming threat, and the laser likely won't be able to do enough damage to the missile before it hits. That said, this is clearly a technology demonstrator, as it's not being outfitted on a Burke, Tico, or Nimitz, the real workhorses of the fleet. They'll use this for sporadic engagements when they're sure they've got sufficient redundancy to eliminate any threat where the laser system isn't effective.
The Navy doesn't use guns to shoot down aircraft any longer, they use missiles, specifically, SM-2 and SM-6 missiles from AEGIS Cruisers and Destroyers. Those missiles can also be used to shoot down cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles. The CIWS (Phalanx) is used for close-in defense against missiles as an absolute last resort, but that capability is largely being moved to Rolling Airframe Missiles. To wit, the latest ships to come out of design in the US do not have Phalanx, they have RAM. I'm not sure if the Flight III Burke Destroyers will have RAM or Phalanx, but I'd expect they'd scrap Phalanx.
While I agree with you on several points, I have to take exception to World War I and II. Would you prefer to be speaking German, these days?
RedHawk requires a LOT of packages as prereqs, to run properly. We pared that down quite a bit, but the ccur kernel is HUGE, and there's no getting around what's required by their real time software.
And by saying that a RAD750 is a hardened VME chassis, I meant to say that it runs in a hardened VME chassis.