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Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by TylerE on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @09:29PM (#25132518)
I'm curious...has a true ICBM _ever_ been fired under actual combat conditions? (Not counting mid-range stuff like the Scud)
Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by chiph on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @09:35PM (#25132567)
No. The Soviets were pretty much oriented towards "Launch on Warning" in the 80's so the US made sure to notify them for tests. And then only fired from places like Vandenberg on the coast of California. Any launch from a silo out in the middle of Kansas would be a war launch (or a really really unfortunate accident.)

There have also been test firings from missile subs. But again, lots of notification, and done from a latitude/longitude that made it obvious it was a test.

Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by stevecalifornia on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @11:16PM (#25133155)
Twice a year an active ICBM is picked at random from the mid-west, the nuclear warhead is removed, and the rocket is taken to VAFB where it is launched at Kwaj. The entire purpose of this very common event is to make sure that ICBM's work as expected. I live in the area and am woken up by these tests. If you live on the West Coast, you can see them. You can also Youtube them (VAFB missle test).
Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by fuoqi on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @11:40PM (#25133273)
I am not sure that you mean by "actual combat conditions", but Russia quite regularly tests its ICBMs by launching them to the Kura test range [0] in Kamchatka. Tests usually have distance of 5-6 thousand kilometers and often include tests of MIRVs [1] with mass-equivalents of nuclear warheads.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kura_Missile_Test_Range

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_independently_targeta...

Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by iaw on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @09:33PM (#25132548)
If you take Command and Control[0] to be an authoritative source, then no I don't believe so. We've come close to accidentally launching on both sides but no combat deployment has occurred, if it did it would likely be the end of our current civilization.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-Accident-Ill...

Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by dboreham on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @09:36PM (#25132572)
Re:US Navy destroyer shoots down an ICBM in milestone test by pqoek on Tuesday November 17, 2020 @09:32PM (#25132535)
nope