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International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation |
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Bulletin 18 - Moving Beyond Missile Defense |
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Intercepted Missiles Could Fall on Europe Missiles targeted at US cities and intercepted by President Bush's proposed missile defence shield could fall on Europe, Canada or middle America instead, arms researchers warn. Bush's missile defence plan includes a system to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) just minutes after launch, while their rocket boosters are still burning. This "boost-phase interception" should be easier than targeting missiles in midflight because tracking a flaming rocket is easier than homing in on a relatively cool and easily disguised warhead sailing high above the atmosphere, experts say. But destroying only the booster could leave the warhead zinging across the sky, says Ted Postol, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Precisely where the warhead would land would depend on when the booster was destroyed during its 4 to 6-minute burn. That would be difficult to control, so the warhead could potentially hit anywhere between the launch site and the target city, Postol says. This means that a nuclear missile fired at the US from North Korea could explode over Alaska or Canada, while one fired from Iraq might strike Britain or mainland Europe. "Even if you knew all the details, you couldn't be sure of what would happen in any given engagement," Postol says. [...] Extract from: New Scientist Science & Technology Service, August 29, 2001; |
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