Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: Brovane
It isn't that hard to pick out a "live" RV.
1.) The IR signature of an actual nuclear warhead is quite distinguishable against a very cold background of space, because the fissile material in the warhead generates a unique internal signature (remember, plutonium is warm to the touch). (Mid-Course); oh I wonder why we put a IR seeker on our Kill vehicle....
2.) As the targets start to enter the Earth's atmosphere; it means the much lighter decoys will decelerate much more rapidly than the actual, much heavier, warheads.
So in all, to defeat ABM, you would need a decoy that pretty much for a multitude of reasons is the exact same shape and weight of the real warhead.
With that in mind, why carry decoys, when you could use that precious throw weight to toss an actual warhead instead?
Of course since a ABM missiles do not work that is why the Japanese, Indians and Russians all have either deployed or developing ABM missiles.
You are completely missing the point, and you don't know what you're talking about when it comes to decoys. Nowhere close.
The balloons they use for decoys (as well as the warheads themselves) are covered by a heated material so they all appear to be the same temperature. This makes the use of IR extremely difficult. Not impossible, but very difficult. The balloons also do
NOT need to be the same weight as the warhead. In fact, the most difficult thing about the balloons is getting them to spin like real warheads, but that has been done as well. Your argument that decoys need to be the same size, weight, and shape as real warheads is simply false.
Once the warheads and decoys are re-entering the atmosphere the entire purpose of the decoy is done. It's only only purpose is to get the warheads through the mid course phase in space. The reasons for this are obvious. In space you can have relatively few BMD systems that can cover a large area (sort of like how sattelites can cover hundreds or thousands of miles of area due to their large LOS from being up so high). Once the warheads are coming back down you are reliant upon terminal phase interceptors which due to range and LOS limitations have to be stationed somewhere close to the target. This means that you can cover all of America with relatively few mid course interceptors, but to cover all of America with terminal phase interceptors would cost an absurd amount of cash. (that, and a plunging ICBM warhead is really hard to hit and even if you do there's no guarantee you will destroy it.)
Finally you are mistaking limited theater BMD for the sort of national defense shield that the US is developing. Theater BMD can be used to cover limited areas with high value targets, largely negating the difficulties seen by national level terminal phase intercept. There is a BMD system that we could set up specifically against certain rogue nations like North Korea or possibly Iran, but that would most likely be a boost phase intercept, a far easier proposition.
