Once a missle clears the Earth’s atmosphere, supposedly there is not much chance of stopping it’s warheads. From what I understand our present system is very iffy in its ability to shoot down descending warheads. Please refute this anyone, I hope it’s not so.
Nope, you are pretty much spot on. On its re-entry/terminal phase, it is moving past Mach 20 and practically impossible to hit with anything kinetic. Best time is to hit it shortly after launch or at the top of its arc.
“Once a missle clears the Earth’s atmosphere, supposedly there is not much chance of stopping it’s warheads. “
Not true. The HAVE JEEP program, and the Eris, Heidi, and Hoe missiles proved early on the capability to intercept warheads.