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Pennies from Heaven

 Smack things real hard with the guts of a MIRV
 
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The ICBMs remaining from the Cold War are impressive pieces of hardware, but the fact is, they are largely useless. Aside from the threat of retaliation, there are few countries in the world that ICBM possessing countries need to nuke. My idea is this: Strip the nukes out of MIRVs, and replace them with the guidance system used on laser guided bombs or JDAMs. The result is a depleted Uranium meteor, providing a substantial yet nonnuclear punch anywhere on Earth at a moment's notice.

Since HalfBaked ideas are supposed to be somewhat absurd, consider giving control of this weapon to troops on the ground. Consider the fun that ensues as a three story tall missile is launched, and travels halfway around the world to smack one guy on a camel in the head. I still wouldn't consider that a waste of money; the ICBMs as they are right now are worthless so this would be an improvement.

—Madcat, Mar 22 2003

(?) MIRV? http://www.mirv.com/
[my face your, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

Don't waste them! We need them for Mars! http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Nuke_20Mars
[bungston, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

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       And I thought you were going to fill the war heads with money--a clever turn on beating swords into plowshares.
—roby, Mar 22 2003
   

       In case anyone doesn't know:
ICBM: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
MIRV: multiple, independently targetable, re-entry vehicles.
JDAM: Joint Direct Attack Munition		   

       I didn't. To be honest, I still don't really know what constitutes a MI(T)RV or a JDAM.
—my face your, Mar 22 2003
   

       A MIRV is a multi-warhead ballistic missle
JDAM is a guidance system that can be attached to 'dumb' bombs to turn them into 'smart' bombs.		   

       In response to the idea, I think "providing a substantial yet nonnuclear punch anywhere on Earth at a moment's notice" is something I don't want anyone to be able to do.
—phoenix, Mar 22 2003
   

       So it's not a copper wh/st/opper?
—thumbwax, Mar 23 2003
   

       Wouldn't the other nuclear powers freak out and trigger a nuclear war?
—ootleman, Mar 23 2003
   

       That's not as definate as you might think. Russia doesn't really have the money to tell if we launch on them right now, and China probably doesn't have the expertise yet. Even if they did, the issue could be avoided by telling them what we are doing. It's not like we're going to war with either of them any time soon.   

       Also consider the goodwill we'd get for disarming those missiles in the first place.
—Madcat, Mar 23 2003
   

       //Since HalfBaked ideas are supposed to be somewhat absurd//
says who?
—st3f, Mar 25 2003
   

       Russia at least has the experience and years of wisdom from playing the long cold war game before. I'm more worried about Pakistan, India, and North Korea.
—RayfordSteele, Mar 25 2003
   

       ICBM + JDAM = Oxymoron. Gonna have to think up a new name for it…
—Shz, Mar 25 2003
   
      
[annotate]
   


 

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