Re:Superfast military plane hit Mach 20 before crash
by jasonwatkinspdx on Sunday August 21, 2011 @07:29PM
(#2910643)
This is incorrect. Modern ICMB designs include maneuverable reentry vehicles. Even modest accuracy in an ICBM requires at least a minimal amount of course correction in the terminal phase.
But apparently state of the art re-entry vehicles are capable of much more complex maneuvers including 180 degree turns (heading on ground, not the full 3d vector obviously).
The US has had this capability since a research project in the 1980s. Some form of it is deployed on Trident as well as the comparable UK and CH systems.
There is very little published on the topic, but if you start researching the AMaRV project you'll find some details and claims. Of course there's really no way for someone outside the defense community to confirm these claims, but I know of no physical reason why they couldn't be true.
But apparently state of the art re-entry vehicles are capable of much more complex maneuvers including 180 degree turns (heading on ground, not the full 3d vector obviously).
The US has had this capability since a research project in the 1980s. Some form of it is deployed on Trident as well as the comparable UK and CH systems.
There is very little published on the topic, but if you start researching the AMaRV project you'll find some details and claims. Of course there's really no way for someone outside the defense community to confirm these claims, but I know of no physical reason why they couldn't be true.