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Futuristic Laser Successfully Tested on Cruiser

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Some US Admiral claims DF-21d has gone IOC. I'm too lazy to Google.

As for your second argument on conventional ballistic warheads, look up prompt global strike. US is doing the same thing.

Prompt global strike initially included conventional trident missiles. The Bush administration deemed this approach to risky since it could be interpreted as a nuke attack. The Obama administration seemed to favor ballistic missile use once again. But has since gone the other direction under pressure from critics. The favored approach now is focused on hypersonic missiles.

As far as tracking you might want to check this PDF done by Raytheon corp. Ten - twenty years ago I would have agreed with you. But many advances have occurred, especially in the area of data fusion. I can Guarantee you no Navy in the world can compare with the U.S. Navy's ability combine sensor fusion and target tracking.

http://www.androcs.com/html/data_fusion_and_registration.html
The successful DataFusR phase II SBIR project developed processes for fusing information from multiple, widely separated radars together with EO/IR sensor data to significantly enhance the accuracy and reliability of ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems over traditional single radar systems. DataFusR addressed the discrimination and tracking component of the BMD problem by autonomously fusing estimates of the properties for each perceived entity in the threat cloud environment. The DataFusR project demonstrated capabilities to discriminate targets from decoys and clutter, track the targets and display the results in a Single Integrated Air Picture (SIAP). A proposed Multi-Source Data Fusion (MSDF) system could provide intelligent control of DataFusR processes.

This effort both developed new processes and enhanced existing technology necessary to process, and fuse information from multiple radars (either at the same or different frequency) to form a single integrated air picture (SIAP) of the ground midcourse ballistic target environment. DataFusR demonstrated the technology in increasingly more realistic scenarios using simulated data from multiple radars and other multi-modality sensors. DataFusR operated on a combination of sensor measurements, features, track states, and object types to produce a highly accurate SIAP.

DataFusR simulations incorporated theoretical/mathematical target and clutter models derived from the physics of radar. An extensive set of simulation scenarios were generated including single and multiple targets with and without clutter. Both 2D and 3D simulations were performed. The simulations evaluated the performance of the candidate processes utilizing single radars, multiple co-located radars and widely separated radars. The amplitude of the radar returns from frequency diverse sensors was exploited to aid in target/clutter discrimination as well as data association between sensors. Finally data from one or more passive sensors were fused with multiple radar data to further enhance the system performance. An extension to the 3D tracking research involved the development of processes for optimizing the location of the radar systems.

The objectives of the DataFusR II project were to:

* Investigate the intelligent algorithms, software, and hardware necessary to collect, process, and fuse information from multiple radars (either at the same frequency or different frequencies) to form a SIAP based on exploiting feature-aided tracking algorithms.
* Develop and characterize algorithms for processing data from multiple non-colocated radars (possibly operating at different frequencies) for detecting, localizing, discriminating, and tracking ballistic missile targets in a threat cloud that includes decoys and clutter.
* Develop distributed algorithms that enable synergistic fusion and interpretation of data at several levels from ground-based missile defense radars and other sensors to enhance targeting of threat objects in a cluttered environment.
* Produce a highly accurate SIAP of the air space based upon processes that operate on a combination of sensor measurements, features, track states, and object type identification.
* One of the key objectives was to better discern the characteristics of the threat cloud constituents (decoys, chaff, noise, etc.) so as not to waste resources on tracking them, but to discard them from the downstream weapons allocation tasking process.
 
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Some US Admiral claims DF-21d has gone IOC. I'm too lazy to Google.

As for your second argument on conventional ballistic warheads, look up prompt global strike. US is doing the same thing.

From what i've gathered Willard says that China believes it has obtained IOC. He also says that it will still undergo testing and still hasn't been tested in its intended environment. I believe it's similar to the status of the F-35, which is also structurally complete (as apparently the DF-21d is) and in testing but not deployed/operational. While similar it is also in some ways behind because of its lack of testing in its intended environment. Basically it's a capability that could exist in the future, but it doesn't exist currently and so is no more a capability of today than the F-35 is. That said it is a capability that must be prepared for and not dismissed to some point in the future.

As for the PGS, the US is certainly facing and tackling the problem of differentiating it from a nuclear strike. It's a given that there will have to be some way to differentiate it before it becomes operational, and I'd expect China to face the same problems. Only a fool wouldn't fix it, and China isn't run by fools.
 
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You did notice that Kopp pointed out that Ballistic missile tracking and targeting is not hard to accomplish right?

"What defences exist against the ABL? Given the signature size of a ballistic missile, detection and tracking is unavoidable once the missile clears any cloud. At that point the only defence lies in improving the missile's resistance to laser attack. "

Whats more significant progress has been made in Ballistic missile tracking since that article was written.
 
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Gambit, you made the link between small static boat and Mach 10 ballistic warhead. Not I. See your own Post #6.
I made no such 'link'. I did not claimed that the behaviors of a small boat is the same as a descending ballistic warhead.

If you can't tell this is a "Please don't cut my funding demo' than I can't help you.
Even if it is, so what? Why is that wrong? Are you saying that the Chinese government does not have a budgeting process and that every agencies does not have to justify their allocations of the budget? Why not argue that the J-20's recent flights to be nothing but "Please don't cut my funding demo" ?

The US Navy has been working on this for 40 years. They've got another 20 years if you think they can shoot down a Mach 10 manueverable ballistic warhead.
So what? How long a project takes is just as much a consequence of that same budgeting process as there are technical hurdles to overcome. If anything, financing is the greater problem. The US went pretty much 'all-out' on the Apollo program and the result was the US beat the Soviets to the moon in a ten-year timespan. No one expected it. If the US military were to drop aircraft carriers and 'stealth' fighters programs we probably could have 'death rays' in every ships and current jet fighters.

You have taken the word 'maneuverable' to an extreme when talking about a descending ballistic warhead. No...The vehicle does not 'maneuver' like an aircraft can, unless you are talking about 'Chinese physics'. That does not mean the descending warhead cannot maneuver but that its double digit Mach, even from as high an altitude as orbit, does not afford it much time to maneuver. More like just one course change and that is it. If we want the thing to maneuver, the more maneuverable we want to make it, the slower the descent speed must be and the more complex the maneuver mechanism. Which is it, asymmetric reaction jet thrust or aerodynamic exploitations? The more complex the maneuvering mechanisms, the less space there will be for the explosive charge. Ever thought of that?

The laser beam travels at the speed of light. Does 'Chinese physics' say otherwise? So as long as the warhead's external physical construction is compromised it will tumble out of control. Ever thought of that? Like it or not, this demo effectively made the DF-21 obsolete. Best to ebay the thing.

By then the warhead will have anti-laser defenses too.
You wish. And please do not bring up mirrors.

Yes, I worked for a unit of Lockheed Martin Federal Systems that was bought from Loral Federal Systems that was originally IBM Federal System. IBM Federal Systems made all the sonar and digital signal processing for every US submarine except Seawolf (GE won that contract).
Given the lack of critical thinking I see here...I doubt that.

Who's the fanboy??
We all are. Some are just more credible than others. You are not.
 
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Face it...The DF-21 has just been rendered obsolete. Best to sell it on the market as a discount.

that's cool, in the military hardware world, you always have capabilities and counter capabilities. maybe next generation ballistic missiles will have mirrors on them or something.
 
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You are thinking of slapping on some heat tiles?

Well ballistic missiles already have a lot a of thermal protection as they have to survive re entry. Just curious if a even a high powered laser would rival that kind of heat.
 
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Gambit, I'll make it easier. US lasers are currently not powerful enough. Even the chemical lasers are not powerful enough right now at range. Shooting down a ballistic warhead is therefore currently not possible (hence the small boat - something they could have done in the late 1970's with chemical lasers but not solid state lasers). Your statements about ASBM being obsolete are therefore premature.
 
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Well ballistic missiles already have a lot a of thermal protection as they have to survive re entry. Just curious if a even a high powered laser would rival that kind of heat.

I would say yes, but I guess it largely depends on the absorbability of the skin? I think colour and material are the factors.
 
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The maritime laser is currently nowhere near powerful enough to destroy a fiberglass speedboat, never mind a ballistic missile.

 
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Is that metal or plastic? It's black so it is more efficient at absorbing EM.

 
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