Posted on 07/24/2012 9:30:33 PM PDT by James C. Bennett
Since the end of WWII, America's naval might has been undisputed and our aircraft carriers have been its crown jewels. However, the days of dominance could end with China's new DF-21D ballistic missile—the only device on Earth capable of sinking an aircraft carrier—four and a half acres of sovereign US territory—with one shot.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0d-eFiGN4&feature=player_embedded
The DF-21D (Dong-Feng 21 variant D) is the world's first and only anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). It's a two stage, land-launched missile with a maximum estimated range of 2,700 to 3,000 km. Its single fuel-air explosive warhead packs 200 to 500 kilotons. It was developed by China Changfeng Mechanics and Electronics Technology Academy as part of the country's massive military modernization effort, an initiative focused primarily on developing overwhelming missile technologies for which there are no effective defenses. The Defense Department believes it entered active service around 2009.
While the Chinese obviously aren't saying much on the inner workings of the new missile system, military experts believe it will rely on China's Over the Horizon radar (OTH) to monitor a 3,000-km swath of the South China Sea, where China is now claiming dominion over. The OTH system bounces its radar signal off the ionosphere to see past the curvature of the earth. If the OTH detects a carrier battle fleet, the system instigates a set of Yaogan satellites to search the area and provide precise targeting data. Additionally, when the OTH detects an approaching fleet, the system will reportedly launch a swarm of micro-satellites into low orbit where they will help refine the targeting data further and transmit it back to the onshore command center. Meanwhile, UAVs will be launched to track the fleet. Once the missile has been launched and separated from its first stage, the warhead employs synthetic aperture radar to find the carrier. It receives real time telemetry data as it locks onto its target and initiates its terminal descent.
This capability could be used to effectively deny US carriers from intervening in, say, the Taiwan Strait. It could also be used as a very large stick in resolving local territorial disputes. Many members of the security community also worry that the FAE warheads could easily be replaced with nuclear ones. If that occurred, it would very lead to an arms race with Japan and India (neither of whom are particularly fond of the Communist PRC). Or, it could dissolve the US-Russian INF Treaty, which prevents the two countries from from deploying short and intermediate range land-based ballistic and cruise missiles. [Strategy Page - Wired - Dept of Defense - SinoDefense - Weapon and Technology - Wikipedia]
“...the only device on Earth capable of sinking an aircraft carrier...”
Really? Nothing else? Not even a Trident?
No way.
Meanwhile in the U. S., we’re busy figuring out which three quarters of the military we’re going to gut.
We’re heading into WWIII shouting, “Paddle faster...”, and the guys in back are yelling back, “You guys eliminated the paddles in the sixth round of cutbacks.”
Seems to me a very small yield nuke should pluck this sort of device from the sky. It would need to be small enough to prevent IMP damage to our forces.
Seems to me a very small yield nuke should pluck this sort of device from the sky. It would need to be small enough to prevent IMP damage to our forces.
Excuse me. That should have read EMP.
You win the prize! Why should the Chinese risk a shooting war when in a decade or so our military will resemble the UK’s.
At times like this, I hate being right.
Targeting: The process of targeting, authorizing and launching a ballistic missile takes time. It isn't just time-to-target but from the ID of the location of the carrier, programming in the targeting package, authorizing the launch and then travel time for the missile to get there. During this time the carrier group is moving along at a very fast clip (~30 knots) which means the area of uncertainty for where the carrier is going to be grows and grows. The Pentagon experimented with this idea for a while and found it was completely impractical because ballistic missiles are very dumb weapons (that whole ballistic trajectory part) and they aren't going to be able to reliably get within 100 miles of a carrier group, let alone close enough for a kill.
It's a ballistic missile: Do you know why the US has never mounted conventional warheads on ballistic missiles? Because there is no way to tell the difference between a ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead and one with a conventional one and we aren't stupid enough to risk a nuclear confrontation just to enable a delivery method which doesn't have many non-nuclear applications in the first place (there are much better ways to do rapid response conventional bombing).
SM-3: 'nuff said.
You don't attack Carrier groups with conventional munitions: This should be obvious but sinking of a US fleet carrier by anyone would immediately trigger an overwhelming response of the instant sunshine variety. This is not just hyperbole--sinking a US carrier is seen as the same thing as a nuclear attack in the first place so why develop a conventional capability that isn't even that great in order to try and do so?
Maybe about the time Bill Klinton and Loral showed the ChiComs how to put their fourth stage in geosynchronous orbit?
yitbos
A nuclear warhead is a well known method of destroying an aircfaft carrier group. China just came late to the party and the journalists are all excited.
For example, this is an interesting video. BrahMos, in this video, is not supposed to carry a nuclear payload. The weight of the payload is specified as up to 300 kg. But if you look at Moskit which is officially nuclear-capable you read this:
320 kg (710 lb) explosive or 120 kt of TNT fission-fusion thermonuclear
Now, how hard would it be to mount a 300 kg warhead onto a 300 kg capable missile? Is it even conceivable that nobody in the long chain of generals, Russian and Indian, ever asked that question? IMO, BrahMos is advertised as a conventional weapon only because it's an international project. Everyone understands that you don't use these missiles against fishing boats. (But you can; look at the accuracy in the video.)
The new thing that China did here is simple. They used a ballistic missile, and as I understand it is minimally controlled in the descent phase. Its defense is only in speed, and in hope that it is correctly aimed and the target does not move appreciably fast and that the target does not shoot at the incoming missile with everything it got. This may be a valid approach, or it may be a flawed one. Without a test in battle conditions it's hard to say; after the test the survivors wouldn't be very interested in such trivia.
We have several platforms that can pack a tactical nuke, and the Chinese know it.
200 to 500 kilotons in a fuel air bomb?... um no. Not even close. Maybe 2 to 5 at absolute max, and that’s a big fuel air bomb.
Bat guano.
The kind of fuel that packs kilotons into a warhead doesn't give a rat's ass about air. LOL!
After separation from the third stage, the Trident D5 Post-Boost Vehicle(PBV) takes stellar sightings and updates its guidance systems.
The PBV is then able to receive GPS navigation updates to correct its velocity and position in space.
FYI, the accuracies achieved are still classified and even I do not know them.
But they are better than 90 meters CEP.
So the Trident D5 could be used as a carrier killer weapon thanks to its high accuracy.
If it was made in china by Chinese workers then it will be a POS, it will be defective and probably malfunction like the rest of the junk that they make.
It would be terribly fascinating to see what a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast would do to a Chinese carrier
But I doubt he'd order flags at half-staff unless it involved losing some Hollywood campaign donations generated from the new Batman movie.
Bookmark
Transmit fake images.
Wiki says, "Several OTH radar systems were deployed starting in the 1950s and 60s as part of early warning radar systems, but these have generally been replaced by airborne early warning systems instead."
And satellites!
I dunno if Chicom would even use antiquated technology to find or target a carrier?
I'm kinda surprise Gizmondo's spider being used by chicom's psywar.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.