Before I expound recall that Trump has stated many times that “North Korea will not be allowed to develop nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the U.S., “It won't happen!” -Trump says
This isn’t just the way Trump sees the threat, it has been a firmly held doctrine inside the Pentagon and among politicians from both side of the aisle for decades.
Here is why this Time is Different
North Korea technological progress and innovation in the last several years been nothing short of breathtaking. North Korea is an intelligence black hole and the west has obviously vastly underestimated their capacity and capabilities.
There are 3 major technological hurtles (or mountains is a better word,) that North Korea was up against to deliver a weapon half away around the globe, no one dreamed they would ever manage to overcome them, or at least certainly this quickly. Here they are.
THE MISSILE
Even before North Korea gave its account of what happened, the launch caught the eye of experts.
Tokyo clocked the missile as traveling about 800 kilometers (500 miles) and reaching a height of 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) during its half-hour flight.
That is a higher altitude and longer flight time than any other missile the country has test-launched, according to several South Korean analysts reached by The Associated Press.
If it had been fired at a normal angle, analysts say, it could have flown much farther — estimates vary between 4,000 and 7,000 kilometers (2,500 and 4,350 miles), the upper number putting Alaska and possibly Hawaii within striking distance.
Before Sunday's launch, an intermediate-range missile called Musudan was thought to have the longest potential range among the missiles that North Korea has test-fired — about 3,500 kilometers (2,180 miles).
This missile could travel twice the distance and theoretically reach targets as far east as Chicago.
THE NUKE
North Korea is estimated to have 20-35 nuclear weapons. Miniaturizing the warheads to fit on a missile has been one of the three hurtles they would need to overcome. This new missile technology greatly lowers how ‘miniature’ they have to miniaturize. In addition, they have been feverishly working on this and if their recent technical progress is any guide, they likely cracked that nut a while back.
THE RE-ENTRY VEHICLE
There is enormous pressure when a missile re-enters the atmosphere. ... If (electrical) circuits break and a trigger device fail to detonate nuclear fuel, you can imagine that only some twisted metal will fall on Alaska or Hawaii.
However, this is the ‘lowest tech of the three,’ The US would certainly not bank on not taking military action because they may not have mastered this technology. India developed a re-entry vehicle in under 8 months
Submitted May 15, 2017 at 04:16PM by loudbounce http://ift.tt/2pQ1FZZ