Can The Iron Dome Intercept ICBM nuclear missiles?
No. The Iron Dome is used to counter short range, non ballistic rockets like the Katyusha Rocket and similar systems.To counter short and intermediate range ballistic missiles, Israel deploys the Arrow (Israeli missile) - WikipediaAnd is also developing David's Sling - Wikipedia
What is the range of the Meteor missile?
Range for an air-air missile is never a single value. It varies with launch height/speed, target attitude and target size/speed/manoeuvrability.If the target is head-on, dumb and low manoeuvrable, like a bomber or transport, then firing range to target might be 300km but, because the target is closing the range itself, the missile will only fly something like 150km. Its been fired at a 300km but its not a 300km ranged missile.Likewise in a tailchase the missile has a lot of overtake on most aircraft but the target will be further away at intercept than it was when fired so you have to shoot allowing for that. If you fire at your missiles full range and the target has moved 20kms beyond that when the missile gets to endgame then you miss. Happened to F-14s shooting at Iraqi MiG-25’s in Desert Storm that one. Then you plug in the effects of altitude and what proportion of energy needs to be carried into endgame to defeat a manoeuvring target.So ‘what is the range of the Meteor missile’ 100–300km is quite accurate….depending on when, where and at what you are trying to shoot.
Did the Russian ICBM missile detection system pick up the Chelyabinsk meteor?
Russian defense expert Pavel Podvig answered this question…The early-warning radars never had a chance, but it wasn't their fault - the problem was that they were never supposed to detect objects that are coming from outer space.…the meteorite was out of the field of view of the Pechora radar and it was below the horizon as seen from Moscow, so the Don-2N radar could not see it either. The Dnepr radar in Mishelevka might have detected the meteorite if it looked up, but it didn't - as an early-warning radar its mission is to search the narrow strip of space just above the horizon, which a ballistic missile would cross if it ever comes. They don't (and shouldn't) much care about anything else. These radars are not supposed to search the entire sky on a continuous basis.An early-warning radar could see objects at higher elevations (up to 34.5 degrees in the case of Dnepr) and does so if it is asked to track a satellite. But you have to ask and since nobody saw the meteorite coming nobody did.The bottom line is that there is nothing wrong with the Russian early-warning system. The reason the meteorite was not detected by the Russian early-warning radars is very simple - it was not a ballistic missile.RussianForces.org Did Russian early-warning system see the meteorite?(His blog includes a map showing the meteor’s trajectory and Russian radar coverage. This entry Status of the Russian early-warning radar network has details about the radars. )
Is a SU-35 capable of jamming a meteor missile?
It’s likely. The Meteor’s AD4A seeker operates in the 12–18 GHz range. The Su-35’s Khibiny ECM suite includes 2x KNIRTI SAP-518 jammer pods operating in 5-18 GHz range. Their ranges mostly overlap so it’s physically possible. SAP-518s use DRFM, so the question becomes “Can the AD4A defeat this iteration of DRFM?”In related news, MBDA is working with Japan to improve the seeker on the Meteor (Details of joint missile project with Japan emerge). That could be a response to SAP-518, although it is a good idea anyway. The longer range the missile, the larger seeker it will need to search a larger intercept basket because of target motion and midcourse error accumulation.
Can America's Anti-ICBM defenses also protect against meteorite impacts?
None of the SAM systems that exist anywhere in the world can intercept a meteorite . The simple reason being they were designed from the onset to destroy Ballistic and cruise missiles and not meteorite .The main problem associated with intercepting a meteorite is that the target is likely a solid lump of something. If the target is the size of a mountain imagine dropping bombs on that mountain... the whole mountain isn't destroyed... you just make small craters. In fact if, by some miracle you manage to split the incoming rock then you might find the new trajectories result in two targets on the ground being hit instead of one. Breaking up an incoming threat can just spread the damage rather than actually protect someone.Let's say that a meteorite is a Mountain that is travelling at the speed of 30 kms/sec.A number of mountains have been blown the world over to make way for roads and other infrastructure projects . So in essence mountains can be destroyed . The question is how do you destroy a mountain that's travelling at 30km/sec ? The point is that size is more important than speed anyway... a 1km object at any speed would be devastating.This is where the rubber meets the road. Ergo , using a SAM ( even if it is armed with a nuclear warhead) to destroy an incoming meteorite is a bad idea . The best method ..... early detection and then send probes to land on it and to drill down into the rock and to throw material off the rock on a regular basis in the same direction to change its trajectory and send it into any other planet or the sun.
Can we shoot down a comet or meteor with missiles?
Without getting to hung up on the semantics of the question. I am approaching this as simply can we intercept and deflect a meteor or comet (shooting down doesn't quite work here).Meteors are classified as rocky objects that range in size from being microscopic to no more than 1 meter in size. With a great deal of effort we might pull off a direct intercept in Earth’s orbit of a meter sized meteorid, but this gets very difficult as the object size diminishes. Meteors not in earth's orbit will most often be nearly impossible to intercept as the size and speeds make such objects difficult to track and difficult to launch an interceptor … everything is working against you here. The typical speeds entering the atmosphere is around 45,000 mph. The most you could hope to do is get in its way. With only a couple minutes to acquire, launch and intercept, it seems highly unlikely.As far as comets go, we have already intercepted an easy one. It is more about finding a comet on a trajectory that is friendly to an intercept than us picking out a passing one and shooting for it. Comets can travel over a million miles per hour on their approach to the sun. Again, the most we could hope for is to get in their way.
How would you compare India's Astra missile with Europe's Meteor missile?
As Nikhil Puranik has mentioned, these two missiles have very different propulsion systems and very different ranges.Astra is the very first Air-to-Air missile to be designed and developed in India. The seeker is not Indian, but pretty much most of all the other building blocks are Indian. The Indian engineers and scientists, as one can imagine, had to go through a very steep learning curve to bring the Astra missile to fruition. So the missile's capabilities might seem like a mirror of some of the existing missiles. A lot of critical technologies related to propulsion, guidance and control surface actuation were perfected. As a result, India will soon have a home-cooked BVR munition at a steep discount and custom made to the Air force's requirements, replacing for most part, the R-77 and the Matra Super-530D.The Meteor is in a completely different league. MBDA has built a worthy missile befitting its long and illustrious legacy of building precision guided munitions. The biggest showpiece technology on the Meteor is the miniature solid fueled ramjet engine. A ramjet propelled missile has sustained(And throttlable) thrust under its disposal longer than the standard solid rocket motor propelled missile. With a 'vanilla' BVR missile (every other missile in the market with a standard solid rocket motor), there is a 'burn time' (on avg abt 25 secs) which provides the missile all the thrust it would possibly need to reach its target. After this initial burn, the missile bleeds energy as it heads to the target. The missile bleeds energy more rapidly if it has to turn hard. If the target starts maneuvering hard, or turns tail and makes a run for it, there is a chance the missile will fall short of its target. With a throttlable ramjet, the missile can throttle down the thrust during the 'coasting' phase and preserve some 'juice' for the end game chase. Another option available for missile designers is to use a 'dual pulse' rocket motor (similar to the rocket motor on the Barak-8), which kicks starts a second rocket motor which provides thrust for the end game chase.India already has a working solid fueled ramjet engine in the Akash missile. Miniaturizing it to enough to fit on an Air to air missile is the challenge.
What advantages will Indian airforce get after equping meteor missile on Mirage jets?
Meteor is an active radar guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed by MBDA. Meteor offers a multi-shot capability against long range manoeuvring targets, jets, UAVs and cruise missiles in a heavy electronic countermeasures environment with range well in excess of 100 kilometres.CHARACTERISTICS:-Weight: 190 kgLength: 3.7 mDiameter: 178 mmOperational range: 100+ km (63 mi, 60 km No Escape Zone).Speed : over Mach 4.Guidance system: Inertial guidance, mid-course update via datalink, terminal active radar homing.Engine: Throttleable ducted rocket.Warhead: High explosive blast-fragmentation.FEATURES:-Meteor’s stunning performance is achieved through its unique ramjet propulsion system – solid fuel, variable flow, ducted rocket. This ‘ramjet’ motor provides the missile with thrust all the way to target intercept, providing the largest No-Escape Zone of any air-to-air missile. To ensure total target destruction, the missile is equipped with both impact and proximity fuses and a fragmentation warhead that detonates on impact or at the optimum point of intercept to maximise lethality.Meteor has been developed by a group of European partners led by MBDA to meet the needs of six European nations: the UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Sweden. The weapon system will equip Eurofighter Typhoon, Rafale and Gripen. It is also compatible with other advanced fighter aircraft and will be integrated to the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.Meteor will be equipped in Rafale , Mirage 2000.Tejas is also likely to be equipped with Meteor.JAI HIND………..