Missiles everywhere

Believe it was Dr. Gonzo himself, Hunter S. Thompson, who slightly altered the classic phrase into “When the going gets weird, the weird get weirder.”  Trust me on this one, this was a man who knew weird – take his word for it. Today, is missile level weird.

Starting off, our old acquaintances in Iran say that one of their first hostile steps, should hostility break out, will be to shoot a bunch of missiles at US and allied targets in the mid-East. If attacking Israel, they would need to be MRBM (Medium Range Ballistic Missiles) with a range in excess of 1,000 miles. According to the National Security Journal, they had about 2,000 of these in various flavors – most with 1,000kg warheads. NSJ

Previous use of their missiles indicates poor accuracy (like +/- a kilometer?) but they have been working on that, they say. They also used a bunch of missiles in the recent Israeli conflict, and no doubt lost some during the joint Israeli-American raid on their nuclear facilities.

Their big development partner? North Korea. Supposedly a lot of test data and info has passed between the two, which would strengthen both.

Speaking of the Norks… they come up next. Besides claiming to have an ICBM or several with the range to hit the US Mainland,they also have a pretty fair arsenal. This week Li’l Kim unveiled 50 new 600mm rocket launchers made to deliver nukes to South Korea. Seems to be having a good time behind the wheel, eh?

Experts say North Korea’s large artillery rockets blur the distinction between artillery systems and short-range ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery.

Kim, in a speech, said the “wonderful” rocket launchers are equipped with artificial intelligence and advanced guiding technologies tailored to carry out a “strategic mission,” a term that implies nuclear purpose. Military.com

The border between the two Koreas has been a bit unsettled lately, with at least two drone incursions from South to North. South Korea says they are investigating three civilians for that. We think our civilians do stupid stuff… flying drones over one of the most contentious borders in the world has to rank right up there.

The Phillippines looks to be the recipient of more US missile systems to counter the threats in the China Sea. Phillippines’ Ambassador to the US said:

“It’s a kind of system that’s really very sophisticated and will be deployed here in the hope that, down the road, we will be able to get our own,” Romualdez told The Associated Press.

The Typhon missile system that the U.S. Army deployed to the main northern Philippine region of Luzon in April 2024 and an anti-missile launcher called the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System that was deployed in April last year also to Luzon have remained in the Philippines, Romualdez said.

The Typhon missile launchers, a land-based weapon, can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile. Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which places China within their target range, from the northern Philippine region of Luzon.  Military.com II

China, as could be expected, ain’t happy about the. Probably even less happy about the prospect of more of them.

I know that building

Last, but not least – in January this year Congress approved the sale of multiple rocket systems to Denmark.

The sale, certified by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, covered up to 100 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, associated launch equipment, training, and logistical support, with an estimated value of about $45 million. The official justification was conventional and sober: enhancing Denmark’s ability to meet national and NATO defense requirements and improving interoperability with U.S. forces.   Military.com III

When has Denmark been threatened by military action in the last several decades?  Oh, wait… THE U.S. threatened to take their property, Greenland, from them. Oh, the irony…

One bright spot – one suspects that if we actually did have any nefarious designs on Greenland, one of the last things we would do is sell them Hellfires. Unless someone is just monumentally stupid.

Category: China, Iran, Korea, None