16 Comments

AFAIK the "Rods from God" are not maneuverable once launched. They are far more effective on ground targets that don't move.

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They MIGHT be maneuverable, but not much. Jerry Pournelle's concept was a massive weapon that killed by kinetic energy, and once launched, they'd be tough to steer. IF you detect the launch, the proper countermeasure is a sharp turn and max emergency speed to clear datum.

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The Navy used to keep track of all satellites. They should be able to keep the ballistic missile defence capable BURKEs in targets. Of course, this is now Biden's military, and therefore, Biden's Navy, so maybe they won't bother, as that could get Biden in trouble with the CCP.

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Covid isn't a joke, so get well soon.

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We don't have the shipyards we had in WWII nor do I think the skill to do rapid repairs. Though I suspect we'll learn to do those repairs as we did in WWII. The work of craftsmen and naval architects. As complex as today's carriers are, I do think we can pull off another "Arsenal of Democracy" that our parents/grandparents did in WWII.

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Speaking of balloons from Central China - There is a report out today that the three that passed over CONUS during the Trump administrations were supposedly “undetected” by USAF. Please look into this, Sal. I smell a whole lot of funny things going on. If they were undetected, how can those generals know that the incursion even happened? My personal guess is that they WERE detected, but USAF chose to keep Trump in the dark so they could make him look bad at some later date. I could be totally wrong. And I hope I am. But 2 and 2 usually add up to 4.

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Why would they wait to make him look bad? They would have done it then and the media would have helped. The Brass would have just told him, like they did Biden, that it was too dangerous to take out the balloons and defied HIS order...just as they supposedly did Biden's order on Wednesday last. Then it would have been released to the press to say Trump was all bluster and bluff about defense.

But funny things are going on when the military admits they defied the NCA's order to shoot it down....especially when they could have done it in unoccupied Alaska or Canada long before it was seen in Montana. And, yeah, your point of "if you didn't know it was there then, how do you know now or anytime after the fact" is just pure common sense. So, yeah, something definitely going on.

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The info was gleaned by Biden appointees like that truth teller and professional staff weenie, John Kirby - not exactly a trustworthy source - from their time travel machine that was able to go back and recreate history. Stalin had a machine like that, too. I apologize for impugning any of the honest and legit staff weenies out there

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Hope you continue on the mend sir! Keep up the good work!

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Hey Sal, hope you feel better soon. Had it twice, but mine wasn't that bad except for the fatigue afterward. That takes a bit and lingers to a surprising degree.

As to aircraft carriers and vulnerability to missiles, we all know the kill chain problems. But the best defense is a good offense - our long range, air breather hypersonic weapons that are maneuverable in the atmosphere will extend the striking power of the fleet - along with longer range, stealthy aircraft. In theater ballistic missile defense will also play a hand, just as ASW does for subs (which I would think are much more deadly to a carrier). So maybe we increase funding and put it into missiles, lots and lots of long range missiles for offense and anti-missile defense. First, so we don't quickly go Winchester and Second, so we can jab from the outside before we duck in to deliver a combination for the knock out.

Rods from God open up a new can of worms and, if they go there, we already have the X-37s that we can mount lasers on (in the hold) to take out any orbital weapons platforms - and be there for ballistic missiles, too, at that point. We are way ahead of the Chinese and Russians in that regard.

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Sal,

Glad you’re feeling better. Big fan of the Rods. Keeps bad people up at night.

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My solution for covid was to force myself to cook and eat, chicken soup, lots of electrolytes, glad you’re on the mend

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Interesting read as always! I fear the only way this question will be answered, and I fear tragically, will be in an actual conflicts. The complexity of this problem from the defense of a carrier is 4-D in space and time. With all the options available and likely to become available, it's hard to imagine how that math works in favor of the CSG as now conceived and it's ability to keep a pace with what's coming.

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Get well soon

> The weaponization of space was done by Nazi Germany in 1944 with the V2. It’s not an escalation.

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I’ve had the Wuhan Red Death twice. First time, like a flu that came and went quickly. Second, nothing more than a head cold for a few days.

Sorry to hear yours is so much much worse. But that said, I see no need to hype this thing that has a 99.8% survival rate…and that includes, ahem, “high risk” demographics. More like 99.999999 if they are excluded. And DAMN sure not worth the risk of getting the experimental chemical poison concoction injection.

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I did my PhD dissertation on dengue ( a disease like COVID) that can be enhanced by previous exposure or vaccination that doesn't result in "sterilizing immunity" (virology term that does not mean you become sterile). Non-neutralizing antibodies actually enhance the uptake a replication of the virus by immune cells--with dengue, you go into shock and hemorrhage your total blood volume.

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