Posted on 09/06/2013 11:42:33 AM PDT by EBH
In an article titled, “Electronics to Determine Fate of Future Wars,” the journal explains how an EMP attack on America’s electronic infrastructure, caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon high above the U.S., would bring the country to its knees.
“Once you confuse the enemy communication network you can also disrupt the work of the enemy command- and decision-making center,” the article states. “Even worse today when you disable a country’s military high command through disruption of communications, you will, in effect, disrupt all the affairs of that country. If the world’s industrial countries fail to devise effective ways to defend themselves against dangerous electronic assaults then they will disintegrate within a few years. American soldiers would not be able to find food to eat nor would they be able to fire a single shot.”
WND reported the Iranian threat last Monday, explaining Tehran is not only covertly developing nuclear weapons, it is already testing ballistic missiles specifically designed to destroy America’s technical infrastructure. The report was published first in Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin, a premium, online intelligence newsletter by WND’s founder.
Pry pointed out the Iranians have been testing mid-air detonations of their Shahab-3 medium-range missile over the Caspian Sea. The missiles were fired from ships.
“A nuclear missile concealed in the hold of a freighter would give Iran or terrorists the capability to perform an EMP attack against the United States homeland without developing an ICBM and with some prospect of remaining anonymous,” explained Pry. “Iran’s Shahab-3 medium range missile mentioned earlier is a mobile missile and small enough to be transported in the hold of a freighter. We cannot rule out that Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of international terrorism might provide terrorists with the means to executive an EMP attack against the United States.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
If they are going to do it, the time is when Obama is President. He will likely have a confused and contradictory response, whatever the crisis.
Totally impossible.
To generate a large EMP pulse you need to detonate a multi megaton warhead about 200 miles above the USA.
A simple 10k atomic bomb wouldn’t do anything.
Everyone please voice your comments on the current gutless GOP to the Speaker at: 202-225-0600; press 1 to get a staffer.
Actually I have felt like Iranians and others have been trying to bait us into a war for several years. This would seem like a good time to take us on because our government is in disarray, our military is diminished, we don't have any money, and our people are tired of war.
On the Potomac?
/johnny
They are stupid. Most of our military assets are EMP hardened and they would only affect civilian infrastructure. Like another poster said it would take and extremely large blast from high altitude (or many spread out in unison). They are smart enough.
That said, I only hope that if that ever happened to us that our current leader, whomever that is, would have the nerve to do it to the world and level the playing field so we are not vulnerable because our leader is gutless.
M.A.D
If you wipe out the civilian power grid of a major city that would be disruptive enough.
EMP can work in both directions, who will it hurt most? What we need is a EMP that works on the brains of the Mullahs that were brought into Iran by Khomeini. Then again they are already burnt out.
Even then you run not only have the inverse square limitations but also it’s not like we’ve done a whole lot of real world testing of nuclear generated EMP on modern electronics. Sure, some satellites get cooked, radio communication gets screwed for a while and maybe some power grid damage. Better bang for the buck would be lots of homebrew flux compression generators.
“Totally impossible.
To generate a large EMP pulse you need to detonate a multi megaton warhead about 200 miles above the USA.”
The Russians could do it. Obama is well beyond his level of competence.
When fools elect fools to represent them, can calamity be far away?
“200 miles above the USA”
The NK “weather” satellite is still up there. It passes over the US every day.
Actually not really.
40-400 KM high depending on nature and gamma yield of the device. 40 KM is barely 26 miles high. That puts it above the earth’s magnetic field which is about 20-40KM. Nuclear EMP is part of the “Compton effect”. Compton scattering is of course the interaction between the nuclear event and the magnetic field.
Near-surface detonations are localized of course WRT EMP. Interestingly intermediate altitudes don’t induce the Compton effect (the accelerator and expander of the pulse) due to atmospheric absorption of energy.
100 kilotons @ 40 KM would do the trick, line of site, inverse square rules in effect. Larger and higher just extends the line-of-sight effects and intensity.
Multiple fission/fusion devices, lower altitudes would easily disable/disrupt infrastructure serving the population centers of the US along the coasts.
Take a look here and here:
http://www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/emp.htm
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1549/1
EMP nukes are gamma ray optimized as opposed to ‘blast’ yield optimized. The Gamma rays induce high energy electrons through interaction/excitement of/with the Earth’s magnetic field to produce the HEMP and SHREMP which peaks in nanoseconds and lasts about one millisecond. Secondary effects may last for more than a second, and these are more like a lightning strike— induceing current (E2) in very long electrical conductors (electrical and phone lines, rail lines, similar).
What’s debatable is the direct effects of nuclear EMP on modern devices.
BUT, we have a ‘thin blue line’ of sorts in our just in time world, and a three-day or three week shutdown of say just15% of critical infrastructure is likely to have DEVASTATING effects on our civility. ESPECIALLY if it’s our electrical and transportation infrastructure.
p.s. — to agree with your post - a very high altitude, multi-megaton burst, gamma ray-optimized gizmo puts us back in the 13th century for years, and the Iranians can’t yet get there.
History and experience teaches us that the ummah still exists in the 7th century, so their collective dogma and memory should never be dismissed.
The good news is, that they will only get one chance, at their choice of collective suicide.
True, but misleading.
I don't know the math, but the exact same effects over much smaller specific areas are possible. If I remember right, in the past there have been tactical (battlefield) EMP weapons studied and tested.
Also true, is that to render an area the size of the US,Russia, South America or Africa is unpractical.
Plus, I am sure that the universal sandmaggot rules for the entire universe, the queeran, somewhere must contain the prohibition about exploiting physical laws discovered and exploited by unbelievers...
Gee, I thought their nuclear program was for peaceful purposes.
It would have to be done at night for long range emp for the solar wind on the dayside thins out the magnetic field lines of force on the day side, squashing more of the field to the night side. Hence reduced propagation effects on the day side meaning, you’d have to explode emp devices closer to the surface on the dayside to get any emp at all.
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