Translated material
They fly too high
The USA and Japan are not ready to shoot down the intercontinental missiles of North Korea: Defense One
After the next launch of the North Korean ballistic missile, the chief secretary of the Japanese Cabinet of Ministers Yoshihide Suga said: "We did not intercept it because we did not expect damage to Japanese territory." In the Defense One column , Joe Syririncione, an expert on nuclear weapons, explains why this missile, in principle, could not be intercepted over Japan or in flight towards the United States.
When the North Korean Hwanson-12 flew over Japan, it was at an altitude of 770 kilometers. This is too high for any existing mobile systems that could be placed in Japan. The Patriot complex (Japan already has it) is designed only to defeat the warhead in the final area of the flight - when it “falls” on the target.
Theoretically, the rocket could try to intercept on take -off. But for this, American ships with Ijis system missiles would have to be brought close to the North Korean coast. And even then, the anti -throat would have only a minute or two for successful interception.
“Ijis”, “Patriot” and another mobile system - Thaad - are placed in the area that must be protected from a flying rocket. For example, if the DPRK shoots at the American guam, then the ThaAD complexes installed there should be intercepted on the approach.
To protect the continental United States, a missile defense complex was created on a marching (average) flight area (GMD). He should just hit the warheads at high altitude - in space. But in the tests, this system, which has not yet been fully commissioned, shot down only half of the educational purposes. As the GMD will behave in real conditions, when interference and false targets are possible, is unknown. To do this, you need to change the nature of the tests and prepare the scientific justification of such defense.
Journalists constantly use words like “shield” or “dome” when they write about the alleged capabilities of our systems, which gives us a false sense of safety. Politicians only exacerbate the situation with exaggerated, although neatly formulated statements. “The US troops are able to protect from the limited attack of North Korea on Seoul, Japan and the United States,” said Danford, head of the chief of staff of the chiefs of staff. Is it true? Depends on how to understand the “limited attack” (English.).