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Why isn't the US intercepting Iranian missiles over Iraq?


On the way

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I mean by and large, the missiles fired by the Iranians have to overfly the entire country of Iraq, which is still controlled by the US, with heavy US military presence in the form of advisors, and other units. Knowing that the Iranians will likely use rockets or missiles from Iran into Israel, and knowing that they have to fly over Iraq, why haven't the US stationed anti missile batteries in Iraq to shoo them down before they get to Israel? I know the Israel missile defence is formidable, but isn't it better to intercept the missiles as far away from the borders of Israel as possible. What are the Iraqis going to say? No? They hate the Iranians as much as the Israelis. Is it because the parabola of the missile flight is too high over Iraq to intercept and that it's better to shoot at them when they are in the terminal phase nearer to the ground? This is a mystery to my untrained ballistic missile mind. LOL

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The U.S. does not directly control Iraq and it likely has nothing in country that could hit exo atmospheric missiles. Remember that when the Iranians attacked US bases there was not so much as a Patriot battery in country, let alone an ABM system. And I think even THAAD lacks the kinetic energy for a mid course MRBM/IRBM interception.

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1 minute ago, Josh said:

The U.S. does not directly control Iraq and it likely has nothing in country that could hit exo atmospheric missiles. Remember that when the Iranians attacked US bases there was not so much as a Patriot battery in country, let alone an ABM system. And I think even THAAD lacks the kinetic energy for a mid course MRBM/IRBM interception.

I've read that THAAD does not work at all and is a failed product. 

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1 hour ago, TrustMe said:

When the UAE tested it.  Supposedly the Aegis Ashore works better.

What did the UAE test it against and where? Color me skeptical; I did not realize they had access to ballistic missile simulators on a thousand mile test range.

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13 minutes ago, Josh said:

What did the UAE test it against and where? Color me skeptical; I did not realize they had access to ballistic missile simulators on a thousand mile test range.

All I know is that the UAE didn't like the product they bought.

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5 hours ago, Josh said:

The U.S. does not directly control Iraq and it likely has nothing in country that could hit exo atmospheric missiles. Remember that when the Iranians attacked US bases there was not so much as a Patriot battery in country, let alone an ABM system. And I think even THAAD lacks the kinetic energy for a mid course MRBM/IRBM interception.

But if the US wants to, they could install Patriot batteries all over Iraq, no? Right now they got a couple of US destroyers of the coast of Israel shooting at Iranian missiles, but that coverage has to be limited in area. I would think if they can thin out the Iranian missiles over Iraq before they get to Israel, it would be better. 

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11 minutes ago, On the way said:

But if the US wants to, they could install Patriot batteries all over Iraq, no? Right now they got a couple of US destroyers of the coast of Israel shooting at Iranian missiles, but that coverage has to be limited in area. I would think if they can thin out the Iranian missiles over Iraq before they get to Israel, it would be better. 

Patriot would not be able to engage any ballistic missile that could reach Israel. As I stated, j doubt even THAAD can. That would be a mid course intercept at the near apogee.

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5 minutes ago, Josh said:

Patriot would not be able to engage any ballistic missile that could reach Israel. As I stated, j doubt even THAAD can. That would be a mid course intercept at the near apogee.

Ok, got it. 

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7 minutes ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

One cant help but think that perhaps continued development ofr the Airborne laser laboratory might have been a better use of tax dollars than LCS...

It didn't work, and more over think about how many ABLs you would have to have to enable any kind of 24/7 coverage. Picture an AWACs with a drastically shorter range.

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Well.. name a weapon system that did work in its first incarnation. Thats why you develop them. :)

The problem as I understand it, they had to engage during boost phase, and that meant flying over an enemy country. Although it was no clear to me, with further development, whether those ranges might have been extended, particularly at high altitude.

Well yes, although in this case we knew an hour in advance (if not more) the missiles were on there way. That wouldnt work in all circumstances clearly, but it was enough for Israel to get all its jets in the air.

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5 hours ago, Stuart Galbraith said:

One cant help but think that perhaps continued development ofr the Airborne laser laboratory might have been a better use of tax dollars than LCS...

Yeah. About that. 

https://www.worldtribune.com/archives/obama-military-budget-cuts-claim-airborne-laser-program/

 

WASHINGTON — The United States has canceled its airborne laser
program, which aroused major interest in the Middle East for its ability to intercept intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Airborne-Laser-ABL-300x239.jpg The U.S. ABL system was to use a Boeing 747-400F with a chemical oxygen iodine laser in the nose.

The administration of President Barack Obama has decided to terminate
the ABL program, meant to develop a Boeing 747-400F passenger aircraft
fitted with a chemical oxygen iodine laser in the nose of the platform.

 

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