assuming the ICBM is a nuclear warhead…. Doesn’t the whole process behind a nuclear warhead involve an explosion that propels the nuclear “fuel” to start a chain reaction? i.e. exploding a warhead will essentially be the same as the explosion that causes the isotope to undergo fission?
ig the same can be said about conventional bombs as well but nuclear is more confusing.
In: Chemistry
As a former US Army Air Defense Artillery soldier (14E PATRIOT FIRE CONTROL) – I’ll chime in.
A nuclear device has a certain sequence to explode. You don’t want it going off if it’s dropped.
A missile shot at an ICBM would hit it hard enough to smash the warhead and scatter the bits far and wide. Yes that’s dangerous, but at a high enough altitude it’s much less dangerous than a nuclear explosion.
Notice I said smash – at the altitudes we’re talking about, the interceptor is “hit to kill”. That means it uses its speed and mass to destroy the ICBM because weight is at a premium.
So the ABM (anti-ballistic missile) slams into the warhead hard enough to smash it into small bits with enough force to scatter them about.
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