User Panel
Posted: 12/24/2022 11:08:41 AM EDT
Article is from 2017 but has some interesting information. Article centers around a new fuzing system now fitted to all SLBM warheads increasing their lethality to Russian hardened targets 3 fold.
https://thebulletin.org/2017/03/how-us-nuclear-force-modernization-is-undermining-strategic-stability-the-burst-height-compensating-super-fuze/ As a consequence, the US submarine force today is much more capable than it was previously against hardened targets such as Russian ICBM silos. A decade ago, only about 20 percent of US submarine warheads had hard-target kill capability; today they all do. (See Figure 1.) This vast increase in US nuclear targeting capability, which has largely been concealed from the general public, has serious implications for strategic stability and perceptions of US nuclear strategy and intentions. The increased capability of the US submarine force will likely be seen as even more threatening because Russia does not have a functioning space-based infrared early warning system but relies primarily on ground-based early warning radars to detect a US missile attack. Since these radars cannot see over the horizon, Russia has less than half as much early-warning time as the United States. (The United States has about 30 minutes, Russia 15 minutes or less.) The inability of Russia to globally monitor missile launches from space means that Russian military and political leaders would have no “situational awareness” to help them assess whether an early-warning radar indication of a surprise attack is real or the result of a technical error. Figure 2 illustrates the kill distribution of US submarine-launched nuclear missiles equipped with the earlier, fixed height-of-burst fuzes. The dome-shaped volume outlined in gray shows the lethal volume within which a 100-kiloton nuclear explosion will generate 10,000 pounds per square inch or more of blast pressure on the ground. In other words, if a target on the ground cannot survive a blast of 10,000 pounds per square inch or more, it will be destroyed if a 100-kt nuclear weapon detonates anywhere within that dome-shaped volume. |
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Quoted: @whiskersthecat come look at this. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/181959/488AE129-E23C-4F4D-87A6-4409EFA1FE50-2529670.jpg View Quote Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" |
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If one missile can hold 12 warheads do all the targets have to be relatively close to each other, or can they be really far away? For instance, could one launch target both LA and Chicago, or is that too far? Or even LA and Vegas?
Cities used for distance examples, not suggestions of targets. |
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Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png View Quote |
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Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png View Quote Just can't believe the USN on this. Don't they know nukes kill people? |
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Quoted: Just can't believe the USN on this. Don't they know nukes kill people? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png Just can't believe the USN on this. Don't they know nukes kill people? Nukes don't kill people, only the people entering the launch codes kill people |
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Quoted: If one missile can hold 12 warheads do all the targets have to be relatively close to each other, or can they be really far away? For instance, could one launch target both LA and Chicago, or is that too far? Or even LA and Vegas? Cities used for distance examples, not suggestions of targets. View Quote They can hit targets several hundred miles apart. LA to Vegas is probably doable. |
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Quoted: If one missile can hold 12 warheads do all the targets have to be relatively close to each other, or can they be really far away? For instance, could one launch target both LA and Chicago, or is that too far? Or even LA and Vegas? Cities used for distance examples, not suggestions of targets. View Quote Not really used like that. The idea is target saturation. Look at the graphic in the OP. We don't want to get one nuke on that target, we want multiple nukes on that target. We want to increase the probability of kill (pk) for whatever we are nuking. There's some really interesting stuff about deploying multiple warheads close together like a clover. The explosive power remains the same but the idea is it will increase the firestorm. |
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Quoted: Just can't believe the USN on this. Don't they know nukes kill people? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png Just can't believe the USN on this. Don't they know nukes kill people? How dare they |
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Quoted: Not really used like that. The idea is target saturation. Look at the graphic in the OP. We don't want to get one nuke on that target, we want multiple nukes on that target. We want to increase the probability of kill (pk) for whatever we are nuking. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Not really used like that. The idea is target saturation. Look at the graphic in the OP. We don't want to get one nuke on that target, we want multiple nukes on that target. We want to increase the probability of kill (pk) for whatever we are nuking. Typically only one warhead would be assigned to a target from one missile, a 2nd warhead would be targeted from another missile. This is to ensure maximum coverage in the event of a failure or a platform was taken out before launch. There's some really interesting stuff about deploying multiple warheads close together like a clover. The explosive power remains the same but the idea is it will increase the firestorm. This was back in the old days with MRVs before they added the I in MIRV.........I for independent. |
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Quoted: If one missile can hold 12 warheads do all the targets have to be relatively close to each other, or can they be really far away? For instance, could one launch target both LA and Chicago, or is that too far? Or even LA and Vegas? Cities used for distance examples, not suggestions of targets. View Quote Given that these are suborbital weapons traveling halfway around the world at insane velocities, I imagine that the allowable distance between targets is going to be more about compatible trajectories than raw distance (ie two targets hundreds of miles apart on the path the missile is travelling might be possible while targets a similar distance apart on either side of the path might not). Of course, it's pretty theoretical since you're probably going to be firing this at something like a missile field where you have dozens of targets all on top of each other. |
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God Bless the Engineers who came up with this new Fuze.
The Russians know a Nuclear exchange with us currently would not end well for them. One reason they are trying to come up with these new types of delivery systems. |
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That pic with the Christmas lights on the warheads made me literally lol.
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In the graphics the superfuse is doing an airburst if it overshoots the target, but how does the.warhead know it's going to miss?
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Quoted: God Bless the Engineers who came up with this new Fuze. The Russians know a Nuclear exchange with us currently would not end well for them. One reason they are trying to come up with these new types of delivery systems. View Quote And compose songs about the “Sarmat” missile as copium. |
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We should show the world our leadership by unilaterally disarming.
Nukes are icky. |
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Interesting article, but that picture kicks ass ! I have a new screen saver for the holidays!
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Quoted: If one missile can hold 12 warheads do all the targets have to be relatively close to each other, or can they be really far away? For instance, could one launch target both LA and Chicago, or is that too far? Or even LA and Vegas? Cities used for distance examples, not suggestions of targets. View Quote It all depends on how much energy is on the post boost vehicle (PBV). Releasing warheads and maneuvering uses up delta-v. Attached File Trident uses a solid propellant PBV maneuvering system, in which you have cartridges of solid propellant "fire" to refill the thrust chamber as it empties of pressurized gas; allowing you to have a throttleable solid fuelled PBV without too much trouble. The only problem is it has much much less delta V than the Minuteman III PBV which uses hypergolic propellants. |
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Article talks about Trident, but that's an old Minuteman three-banger bus with Mk12As.
Still making it my wallpaper, though. |
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I never thought I’d see a pic of MIRVs with Christmas lights in front of a Patton-sized American flag, but consider my life that much more complete now that I have
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Quoted: In the graphics the superfuse is doing an airburst if it overshoots the target, but how does the.warhead know it's going to miss? View Quote The new super-fuze uses a technology first deployed on the high-yield W88/Mk5 Trident II warhead. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Program contracted with the Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation in the early 1980s to develop a new fuze that included “a radar-updated, path-length compensating fuze … that could adjust for trajectory errors and significantly improve the ability to destroy a target. This was an early and sophisticated use of artificial intelligence in a weapon.” @dedreckon |
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The way this was 'splained to me was:
Wave 1 clears the target area of any above ground structure. Wave 2 and I quote "turns the earth above the target to jello" (aka the jello effect). Wave 3 drives deep into the now jello'd earth to detonate as close to the under ground target as possible. Of course this flies in the face of not creating radioactive dust clouds by detonating over targets at elevation. |
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Quoted: Given that these are suborbital weapons traveling halfway around the world at insane velocities, I imagine that the allowable distance between targets is going to be more about compatible trajectories than raw distance (ie two targets hundreds of miles apart on the path the missile is travelling might be possible while targets a similar distance apart on either side of the path might not). Of course, it's pretty theoretical since you're probably going to be firing this at something like a missile field where you have dozens of targets all on top of each other. View Quote The bus can spin and wobble, giving you a surprising amount of targeting ability over a very large distance |
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Quoted: The new super-fuze uses a technology first deployed on the high-yield W88/Mk5 Trident II warhead. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Program contracted with the Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation in the early 1980s to develop a new fuze that included “a radar-updated, path-length compensating fuze … that could adjust for trajectory errors and significantly improve the ability to destroy a target. This was an early and sophisticated use of artificial intelligence in a weapon.” @dedreckon View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: In the graphics the superfuse is doing an airburst if it overshoots the target, but how does the.warhead know it's going to miss? The new super-fuze uses a technology first deployed on the high-yield W88/Mk5 Trident II warhead. The Navy’s Strategic Systems Program contracted with the Lockheed Missile and Space Corporation in the early 1980s to develop a new fuze that included “a radar-updated, path-length compensating fuze … that could adjust for trajectory errors and significantly improve the ability to destroy a target. This was an early and sophisticated use of artificial intelligence in a weapon.” @dedreckon Interesting..and thanks. Still don't understand it, but guess the warhead can somehow tell it's miss distance as it gets close to impact and figures out the best time and height to burst. |
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Quoted: The way this was 'splained to me was: Wave 1 clears the target area of any above ground structure. Wave 2 and I quote "turns the earth above the target to jello" (aka the jello effect). Wave 3 drives deep into the now jello'd earth to detonate as close to the under ground target as possible. Of course this flies in the face of not creating radioactive dust clouds by detonating over targets at elevation. View Quote That depends on your target. Is it a soft target like an airfield or a naval base or is it a hardened and buried target like a silo or a buried command and control center? You aren't going to airburst Chyenne Mountain away with the entire arsenal. |
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Quoted: Interesting..and thanks. Still don't understand it, but guess the warhead can somehow tell it's miss distance as it gets close to impact and figures out the best time and height to burst. View Quote @dedreckon Yes basically it works out how much it's going to overshoot by and then determines at what altitude it will be at when passing over the target and sets it to detonate at that altitude. Based on the article to improve the chances of destroying the target the aimpoint of the warhead is slightly passed the target. So warheads which may have fallen short will now pass closer to the target, whilst those overshooting will still have enough power. Previously the airburst altitude was fixed and could not be changed. |
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Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png View Quote So it’s probably awesome. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png So it’s probably awesome. The article argues that, with the US increasing the accuracy of the targeting of the warheads, we can now use SLBMs to hit hardened targets, and not just ICBMs. To reduce their response time, the Russians would have to place the decision for return-strike to lower level staff, increasing the probability of a false return-strike. Of course, this assumes that the US would launch a first-strike attack, which seems extremely unlikely. |
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Quoted: The way this was 'splained to me was: Wave 1 clears the target area of any above ground structure. Wave 2 and I quote "turns the earth above the target to jello" (aka the jello effect). Wave 3 drives deep into the now jello'd earth to detonate as close to the under ground target as possible. Of course this flies in the face of not creating radioactive dust clouds by detonating over targets at elevation. View Quote Avatar checks out |
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So, a 100 kiloton warhead misses if it's off by 150 meters?
Those missile silos must be pretty tough. |
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Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png View Quote Chicoms have already stolen it. Or shitbags Democrats sold it to them. |
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Quoted: So, a 100 kiloton warhead misses if it's off by 150 meters? Those missile silos must be pretty tough. View Quote Have to be pretty close to generate 10,000psi overpressure. Which is an insanely high amount. IIRC most all non hardened structures are destroyed at under 10psi. 40psi is lethal. |
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Quoted: Chicoms have already stolen it. Or shitbags Democrats sold it to them. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Yep the superfuze pill. Tough to find a positive article on it. Academia hates it, the MSM hates it, foreign powers call it "disturbing" https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/425212/7501_Sherthonk-2622925.png Chicoms have already stolen it. Or shitbags Democrats sold it to them. Sigh. Yeah probably, and the WING WONG 5 and VODKA 12 are the only operational hypersonic missiles. |
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Quoted: God Bless the Engineers who came up with this new Fuze. The Russians know a Nuclear exchange with us currently would not end well for them. One reason they are trying to come up with these new types of delivery systems. View Quote Then of course you run into the problem of US direct hits on intended targets being of less value than the things russia would hit with wild misses. |
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