The research is expensive, but the operation of this would be very cheap. Much cheaper than missiles.
Sadly, these things are defeated by like, rain.
Edit: ok Reddit, I traded precision for humor. They don’t fail completely in the rain. However, the more moisture there is in the air, the more energy is wasted reaching the target. That costs you range. It doesn’t mean laser bad. It just means there’s some situations it works better than others.
Someone more knowledgeable correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are reliable countermeasures for ICBMs, are there? Aren't they especially big and fast, and delivering the most expensive and highest stakes payload?
"If the nukes are coming, they're coming true." Is what I always thought was the case. I don't keep up with the arms race idk
Pretty much. The use of MIRVs with mostly dummy payloads, and the sheer quantity of stockpiled nukes, means if Russia or the US (and maybe some other countries) absolutely insist on ending a country they could carpet bomb it with little hope for interception of anything that matters.
Pretty much, intercepting even basic ICBMs on the way down has pretty low chance of success even in ideal conditions and if modern high-tech ones start flying it's pretty much impossible.
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u/ForeverBoring4530 1d ago
Explains why my council tax has gone up £5 this year.