One truly big problem with actually trying to knock down DPRK missiles with other missiles: one would be betting that the Russians, who can be a bit heavy-handed in the defense of their Pacific airspace (as for the Eastern side, well, ask Mathias Rust) will, upon seeing the images of missiles streaking toward them, simply sit back and hold their fire.
Not something I would want to wager on, even if I were a risk-junkie.
Cool...the Russians might just launch at someone because a rocket on a non-ICBM or SLBM trajectory comes flying over the horizon from a non-nuclear country, heading for the Arctic Ocean. Darn right! Those Commies, they're just looking for an excuse to attack!
ReplyDeleteFun trip down memory lane to the 1980s. Now we just need a soundtrack from the artist formerly known as Prince. :)
Looking at the original post at armscontrolwonk.com, maybe we should get worried about the Icelanders retaliating too--looks like they're dead center in the cone from a hypothetical Japan->NK launch.
Rubashov -
ReplyDeleteSure, you could put your faith in Russian Far East units coming to a correct determination about what the hell is going on and what should be done about it within the approximately 5 to 6 minutes their personnel would have from first detection to final decision.
But would you ever really want to put this faith to a test?
Rubashov -
ReplyDeleteTotalWonkerr has posted more on the ability of Russian Far East forces to identify missiles flying around in their general vicinity.
http://totalwonkerr.com/1989/russia-north-korea-worse-than-you-thought#comment
Not a pretty picture.