Ballistic missile attacks can come in many forms. Although one may prefer to think of war in the modern age as “unthinkable,” it would be irresponsible to dismiss or ignore the harm our enemies may wish us. These textual descriptions and animations show what such attacks, and interceptions, would look like.
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AEGIS Sea-Based Interception |
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| Alerted by spaced-based detectors, an AEGIS Standard Missile (SM-3) system destroys an in-bound nuclear ballistic missile launched from China. Small (4M) |
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Ballistic Missile Attack on Los Angeles |
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| In this scenario, a Chinese CSS-4 ballistic missile armed with a nuclear warhead strikes an undefended Los Angeles, killing one and a half million people. Small (3M) |
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Chinese Attack on Russia |
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| Russia possesses the only operational ballistic missile defense system in the world. This animation depicts a ballistic missile launched from China which is then detected in space and by land based radar before the warhead is intercepted. Large (30M)
Medium (13M)
Small (3M) |
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Ship-Based Attack on Hollywood |
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| Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld has said that the greatest threat posed to the United States is from a ship-launched ballistic missile. This movie shows a tanker off the coast of California launches a Scub-B, armed with a 15 kiloton warhead, in an attack on Hollywood. Ninety thousand people die. Large (55M)
Medium (27M)
Small (10M) |
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THAAD Interception of Ship-Launched SCUD |
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| A ship-launched SCUD against Hollywood would have a very short flight time, susceptible to interception by only space-based laser or, shown here, a land-based terminal defense, such as the Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. Large (18M)
Medium (8M)
Small (2M) |
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China has demonstrated that it is serious about developing nuclear weapons and the means for their delivery. Should the United States be called upon to defend Taiwan, a confrontation with China could be quite possible.
The Hoover Dam is within range of the Chinese CSS-4, the North Korean Taepo Dong II missile, and a wide array of Russian ICBMs.
Los Angeles is within range of the Chinese CSS-4, the North Korean Taepo Dong II missile, and a wide array of Russian ICBMs.
Prudhoe Bay is within range of the Chinese CSS-4, the North Korean Taepo Dong II missile, and a wide array of Russian ICBMs.
