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Kinetic-Energy Strike Weapons ('Rods from God') could Strike Terrestrial Targets with 15-Minutes Notice

 

How do the rods work? The system would likely be comprised of tandem satellites, one serving as a communications platform, the other carrying an indeterminate number of tungsten rods, each up to 20 feet in length and 1 foot in diameter. These rods, which could be dropped on a target with as little as 15 minutes notice, would enter the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of 36,000 feet per second--about as fast as a meteor. Upon impact, the rod would be capable of producing all the effects of an earth-penetrating nuclear weapon, without any of the radioactive fallout. This type of weapon relies on kinetic energy, rather than high-explosives, to generate destructive force (as do smart spears, another weapon system which would rely on tungsten rods, though not space-based). ( More ... )

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Goldfarb, Michael. "The Rods from God: Are Kinetic Energy Weapons the Future of Space Warfare?." Weekly Standard. (June 8, 2005). [ 2 quotes ]

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"Rods from God" are Strategically Better than Conventional Weapons and Politically Superior to Nuclear Weapons at Striking Deeply Buried Targets

 

Clearly the rods are a first-strike, offensive weapon. The nation's aging fleet of ICBMs, and its more modern Ohio-class submarines--each carrying 24 Trident missiles--will serve as an adequate nuclear deterrent well into the 21st century, but nuclear weapons cannot deter rogue states from developing their own nuclear arsenals. Iran has used deeply buried facilities, such as the one in Natanz, to shelter its nuclear progra from an assault similar to Israel's raid on Iraq's Osirak facilities. This has limited America's options for intervention. A conventional attack on such facilities might succeed in setting the Iranian program back a few yeas, but due to the presumed dispersal of equipment over a number of sites across the Islamic Republic, only good intelligence and a great deal of luck would eliminate the threat entirely. And while a nuclear attack could be tactically successful, it is politically unviable. A few well-placed tungsten rods, however, would guarantee the destruction of the targeted facilities assuming timely and accurate intelligence). ( More ... )

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Goldfarb, Michael. "The Rods from God: Are Kinetic Energy Weapons the Future of Space Warfare?." Weekly Standard. (June 8, 2005). [ 2 quotes ]

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