USA ICBM defenses
Was curious what we had. I had heard years ago about interception system being developed. In short, they don’t really work yet.
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2022/physicists-argue-us-icbm-defenses-are-unreliable
Last month, the American Physical Society released a 54-page study analyzing the effectiveness of existing and planned U.S. systems for defending against intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Focusing narrowly on attacks involving a limited number of ICBMs that North Korea could hypothetically launch against the continental U.S., it argues that “current capabilities are low and will likely continue to be low for the next 15 years.” (APS is an AIP Member Society.)
This century, U.S. ICBM defense systems have been designed specifically around the threat of a small strike from a minor nuclear power, and the study notes that defense against attacks from nations such as China or Russia would likely be “much more challenging.” At a webinar on Feb. 16, the study’s leaders stressed the document’s aim is to enrich conversations surrounding missile defense without making specific policy recommendations.
The study was assembled by a group of 13 physicists and nuclear weapons policy experts chaired by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign professor Fred Lamb. Serving as co-chairs were University of Michigan professor James Wells and Laura Grego, a fellow at the MIT Laboratory for Nuclear Security and Policy on leave from the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy organization.