Hawaii ballistic missile alert!

[BartsDaddy 7]

normiss

I'm reminded of a cleaning lady, who when exiting a major international power corporation's Western Hemisphere Network Operation Center, instead of pushing the button to open the doors, pushed the emergency power shut down button.
The entire half of the planet went off-line for about 120 minutes.

Shit happens when humans are in the mix.

Not doubting the event, but was it really half the planet? That would be one mighty big power outage from one button.

Handguns are only used to fight your way to a good rifle

[Bob_Church 7]

It will be interesting to see, if they ever tell us, how long ago they switched from analog to digital.

"Around 8:05 a.m., the Hawaii emergency employee initiated the internal test, according to a timeline released by the state. From a drop-down menu on a computer program, he saw two options: “Test missile alert” and “Missile alert.” He was supposed to choose the former; as much of the world now knows, he chose the latter, an initiation of a real-life missile alert."

[3331 137]

Mild compared to this alert.

I was on Johnston Atoll when this happened.

See attached:

I Jumped with the guys who invented Skydiving.

[Bob_Church 7]

3331

Mild compared to this alert.

I was on Johnston Atoll when this happened.

See attached:

Didn't Johnston Atoll hit ITSELF with missiles a few times? Or at least had a few that blew up on the pad. Thor missiles if I remember correctly.

[yoink 321]

Bob_Church

It will be interesting to see, if they ever tell us, how long ago they switched from analog to digital.

"Around 8:05 a.m., the Hawaii emergency employee initiated the internal test, according to a timeline released by the state. From a drop-down menu on a computer program, he saw two options: “Test missile alert” and “Missile alert.” He was supposed to choose the former; as much of the world now knows, he chose the latter, an initiation of a real-life missile alert."

That seems like an AWFUL system. The number of times I misclick on animated menus just surfing the web is silly. I hate drop down menus...

[winsor 236]

yoink

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42677604



whoops.

Fuck receiving that as a wake-up text!

Given that the threat of attack on Hawaii is purportedly a thermonuclear device, there is not a lot one can do about it in the way of protection.

SOP for preparation for a tactical nuke 7 meters of soil to absorb gamma radiation. After the flash (same TOA as gamma), and following blast, it is deemed 'safe' to emerge with appropriate gear to protect from alpha and beta radiation.

Assuming a thermonuclear warhead survived reentry and targeting was satisfactory, the effects are a whole different ball game.

If Honolulu was hit squarely, it would instantly turn into a huge, very deep, circular lagoon. A crater depth > 50 meters means that there is no way to get deep enough fast enough to avoid being vaporized. You also can't go far enough fast enough to avoid being roasted; the likelihood of being within commuting range of downtown and surviving is zero, to significant digits.

I grew up within the blast radius of a Nike base, so 'duck and cover' really didn't apply. Preparation for an incoming warhead consisted to putting your head firmly between you legs and kissing you ass goodbye.

What they expect to accomplish with the 'warning system' is beyond me. Why not let it be a surprise?


BSBD,

Winsor

[normiss 848]

It was even a green button!!!

Went to a red one once the plastic enclosure was added.
Full disclosure, it was a German company.

[billvon 3,068]

>If Honolulu was hit squarely, it would instantly turn into a huge, very deep, circular lagoon.

Nuclear weapons are detonated at altitude (1000-5000 feet) to maximize damage. The largest weapon North Korea has detonated so far has been ~250KT (if estimates are correct, and if they can get a warhead that size on their delivery system, which is doubtful.) Thermonuclear or not, that won't generate a Hollywood crater.

[Bob_Church 7]

There's not a lot to go on but it looks as though NK has a knockoff of the W80, which makes sense after that fiasco with Lee. So we're talking about a thermonuclear weapon with the potential, depending on how good a job they do copying it, of 150kt that weighs less than three hundred pounds and fits into the nose of a cruise missile. With a little grunting a person could pick one up and set it in the passenger seat of a VW bug, so it's a real threat.

[Bob_Church 7]

3331

Mild compared to this alert.

I was on Johnston Atoll when this happened.

See attached:

My first wife's parents were military and one way you could tell was her Mother serving spam several times a week.

[Phil1111 1,149]

Bob_Church

There's not a lot to go on but it looks as though NK has a knockoff of the W80, which makes sense after that fiasco with Lee. So we're talking about a thermonuclear weapon with the potential, depending on how good a job they do copying it, of 150kt that weighs less than three hundred pounds and fits into the nose of a cruise missile. With a little grunting a person could pick one up and set it in the passenger seat of a VW bug, so it's a real threat.

Most likely a knockoff of a Chinese weapon, built by Pakistan then re-exported to N. Korea.
https://thediplomat.com/2016/08/the-long-history-of-the-pakistan-north-korea-nexus/
https://www.telegraphindia.com/1151115/jsp/7days/story_53188.jsp

For cash the Pakistanis will sell anything to anyone. As demonstrated by the Paki-Libyan and Paki-N. Korea trails of technology.

[nolhtairt 0]

billvon

>If Honolulu was hit squarely, it would instantly turn into a huge, very deep, circular lagoon.

Nuclear weapons are detonated at altitude (1000-5000 feet) to maximize damage. The largest weapon North Korea has detonated so far has been ~250KT (if estimates are correct, and if they can get a warhead that size on their delivery system, which is doubtful.) Thermonuclear or not, that won't generate a Hollywood crater.

Russia's and ours are maximized and calibrated to detonate at altitude for maximum damage. North Korea's is in the infantile stage, who knows what's going to happen. Could theirs detonate at the altitude you stated, or much lower? At any rate, it's definitely not like a giant TNT bomb, which will create a crater if detonated at ground level.

[normiss 848]

Growing up in a military family, we ate more shit on a shingle than we did spam!

[jakee 1,562]

nolhtairt

***>If Honolulu was hit squarely, it would instantly turn into a huge, very deep, circular lagoon.

Nuclear weapons are detonated at altitude (1000-5000 feet) to maximize damage. The largest weapon North Korea has detonated so far has been ~250KT (if estimates are correct, and if they can get a warhead that size on their delivery system, which is doubtful.) Thermonuclear or not, that won't generate a Hollywood crater.

Russia's and ours are maximized and calibrated to detonate at altitude for maximum damage. North Korea's is in the infantile stage, who knows what's going to happen. Could theirs detonate at the altitude you stated, or much lower? At any rate, it's definitely not like a giant TNT bomb, which will create a crater if detonated at ground level.

The bombs dropped on Japan in the 1940s had altitude triggers. I think the North Koreans have probably figured it out by now.

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[gowlerk 2,249]

jakee

******>If Honolulu was hit squarely, it would instantly turn into a huge, very deep, circular lagoon.

Nuclear weapons are detonated at altitude (1000-5000 feet) to maximize damage. The largest weapon North Korea has detonated so far has been ~250KT (if estimates are correct, and if they can get a warhead that size on their delivery system, which is doubtful.) Thermonuclear or not, that won't generate a Hollywood crater.

Russia's and ours are maximized and calibrated to detonate at altitude for maximum damage. North Korea's is in the infantile stage, who knows what's going to happen. Could theirs detonate at the altitude you stated, or much lower? At any rate, it's definitely not like a giant TNT bomb, which will create a crater if detonated at ground level.

The bombs dropped on Japan in the 1940s had altitude triggers. I think the North Koreans have probably figured it out by now.


They could just adapt a Solo 2 or any other skydive audible!

Always remember the brave children who died defending your right to bear arms. Freedom is not free.

[Bob_Church 7]

I wonder what NK would use for navigation. Is the Pentagon standing by to mess with GPS if they detect a launch?

[Phil1111 1,149]

Bob_Church

I wonder what NK would use for navigation. Is the Pentagon standing by to mess with GPS if they detect a launch?

Strategic missiles consist of propellant-filled stages, a guidance system, and a payload. Once launched, the missile passes through three phases of flight: boost, ballistic, and reentry. If a missile has more than one stage (as all of ours do) there may be more than one boost phase interspersed with several ballistic (coasting) phases where the missile follows its trajectory. The missile can only be guided during boost phase with inertial or stellar or both. Inertial guidance uses onboard computer driven gyroscopes to determine the missile's position and compares this to the targeting information fed into the computer before launch. Stellar guidance uses an optical tracking system to triangulate star positions and update targeting information when it is out of the earth's atmosphere. Targeting cannot be changed after launch
https://fas.org/nuke/intro/missile/icbm.htm

[billvon 3,068]

>I wonder what NK would use for navigation.

Probably inertial navigation. IMU's for commercial aircraft are available off the shelf. A simple system would use GPS for initial fix, then revert to IMU once GPS was lost or degraded.

[Bob_Church 7]

I was wondering because threatening to hit the West Coast or the mainland in general is one thing, but Hawaii is a small spot in a huge ocean.

[DJL 235]

normiss

Growing up in a military family, we ate more shit on a shingle than we did spam!

Yup. And my father couldn't help but tell me and my sister what they called it in the ship's mess. Mother did not appreciate that.

"I encourage all awesome dangerous behavior." - Jeffro Fincher

[Phil1111 1,149]

Is North Korea using China’s satellites to guide its missiles?
http://www.atimes.com/article/north-korea-using-chinas-satellites-guide-missiles/

[muff528 3]

One of Dad's war stories from when he was stationed in England was about the first time he heard the term "potted meat". They were used to (read: "tired of") a regular diet of Spam. They found out that some place in town was serving "potted meat", so a few of them headed for what they though would be a welcome change. They were disappointed when they found that it was just another name for Spam.

[wmw999 2,534]

Maybe I haven't had enough of it. I still like creamed chipped beef (as well as creamed hamburger). Chicken a la king not as much, it's not as savory.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[BIGUN 1,402]

Evidently, HEMA has a drop-down menu. The top selection is "Test Warning System," the next one down is "Sound Warning System." You would think they'd be at opposite sides of the menu, in separate drop-downs.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[BIGUN 1,402]

I'd rather be tired of SPAM; than hungry for SPAM.

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.