No último post sobre o tema, tinha dito que pretendia falar dos ICBM's americanos e é sobre isto que vou então focar.
Os Minuteman (LGM-30) são os mísseis que estão actualmente ao serviço para uma guerra nuclear. São ICBM, mísseis balísticos intercontinentais lançados do solo, ou seja, estão posicionados em várias bases espalhadas por território americano.
Em 2021, saiu uma publicação sobre o tema:
Further Exploration of the Minuteman III Life Extension
U.S. military officials, members of Congress, and other proponents argue that the service life of Minuteman III missiles cannot be extended. The USSTRATCOM commander, Admiral Charles Richard, recently said: “You cannot life-extend Minuteman III. . . . It is getting past the point of [where] it’s not cost-effective to life-extend Minuteman III. You’re quickly getting to the point [where] you can’t do it at all.”
O problema da idade já é tema, como se pode ver por este artigo. Não podemos esquecer que a componente nuclear dos EUA posicionada em território americano é constituido por cerca de 400 silos de mísseis Minuteman III.
É a principal força de ataque intercontinental e nuclear. Necessária para enfrentar a Rússia e uma China cada vez mais potente. Tendo isto em conta, vamos olhar para alguns dos testes que têm feito, para verificar a operacionalidade dos mesmos.
A nível de curiosidade, o que diz o site "missilethreat" sobre este ICBM:
[Link]
2011
Air Force Destroys Ballistic Missile After Launch Failure
The U.S. Air Force destroyed an intercontinental ballistic missile just after its launch early Wednesday (July 27) after a malfunction that prompted safety concerns, Air Force officials said.
The unarmed Minuteman 3 missile blasted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 6:06 a.m. EDT (1006 GMT) and suffered debilitating anomaly that forced flight controllers to terminate the rocket as it soared over Vandenberg's western launch range...
2013
US Air Force nuclear missile unit fails safety test
The US Air Force unit that oversees a remote Cold War-era nuclear missile installation has failed a safety test, the Air Force has said.
The 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana made "tactical-level errors" in an exercise, it said.
The exercise concluded on Tuesday was meant to test the unit's ability to operate safely, the Air Force said...
...The unit at Malmstrom is responsible for 150 Minuteman III nuclear missiles, about a third of the nation's land-based nuclear force...
2018
Air Force Destroyed Unarmed ICBM in Test Gone Wrong: STRATCOM Chief
An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile was destroyed in flight this week due to a safety issue, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Wednesday.
"I have a full complement of ICBMs on alert," Air Force Gen. John Hyten said during his opening remarks at the 2018 STRATCOM Deterrence Symposium in Omaha, Nebraska.
However, on Tuesday there was a disappointing "episode" during a test launch, he said, referring to a failed test out of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Everything was "perfect," Hyten said, until "somewhere in flight, we saw an anomaly, and the anomaly was going to create an unsafe flight condition, so we destroyed the rocket before it reached its destination. It was the smart thing to do."
2021
Air Force aborts test launch of unarmed Minuteman III nuclear missile
The Air Force said Wednesday it called off a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III nuclear missile at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, after the weapon turned itself off during the final countdown.
The intercontinental ballistic missile, fired from an underground silo at the coastal base, “experienced a ground abort prior to launch,” the service said in a release...
...USAF will investigate the root cause of the problem. “There has not been an incident like this in recent memory,” Pampe added.
2023
ICBM Test Failure Puts Nuclear Modernization Effort Into Focus
A recent failed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test has led to new concerns about the age of America’s land-based nuclear arsenal.
“It has served our country well and we will continue to depend on it to deter nuclear war until the 2030s, but this week’s test is a stark reminder that nothing lasts forever,” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement released on Nov. 3. “We must modernize our aging nuclear deterrent and replace the Minuteman III missile—as well as the rest of our nuclear enterprise—with modern systems.”...
...The Pentagon is accelerating the Sentinel tasks to meet the operational goal by Sept. 2030, as part of the nation’s broader modernization initiative of all three components of nuclear forces—air, land, and sea......The Air Force also stressed its planning and operations of the project being significantly hindered by continuing resolutions. In October, the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center said they face budget constraints that affect delivering necessary nuclear capabilities for daily deterrence due to these restrictions...
Nunca estivemos tão perto de um conflito nuclear como agora. Nunca. E por estes testes, onde ocorreram variadíssimos tipos de falhas, levantam-se questões sobre quantos dos 400 mísseis terão capacidade de cumprir o objectivo para que foram construidos. Os Minuteman, já têm mais de 50 anos, a sua subsituição para 2030, já daqui a 6 anos parece-me terrivelmente optimista, havendo já indicações de restrições de orçamento.
Se pensarmos que a Rússia lançou um ultimato em Dezembro de 2021, onde pretendem que fique resolvido uma série de questões de segurança e ao qual respondemos negativamente, temos que efectivamente contar que a Rússia assim que considerar a questão ucraniana resolvida, vai-se virar para os temas pendentes com os EUA e Europa.
E como está a Rússia actualmente? Está a avisar que está preparada para ir até às últimas consequências no que entende que são os seus interesses e linhas vermelhas.
No início de Março tivemos um teste e um aviso de Putin.
Day after Putin's nuke war warning, Russia tests nuclear ballistic Yars missile
Russia's defence ministry announced a successful test fire of a Yars intercontinental ballistic nuclear missile on Friday, reported news agency TASS.
Putin's nuke war warning
The test follows Russian president Vladimir Putin's warning against “increased Western involvement” in the Ukraine war, pointing towards the potential for a “global nuclear conflict”.
Putin, in a two-hour speech, attacked Western leaders as reckless and irresponsible, cautioning about the real threat of a nuclear conflict that could lead to the “destruction of our civilisation”.
“We also have the weapons that can strike targets on their territory, and what they are now suggesting and scaring the world with, all that raises the real threat of a nuclear conflict that will mean the destruction of our civilisation,” Putin said.
Putin, está a avisar. E eu considero que Putin não faz bluff. Os avisos, a meu ver, têm que ser levados a sério. Estamos a caminho de um possível confronto nuclear. Se não existir negociações sobre as questões levantadas, o próximo campo de batalha será em território da NATO (Europa). E ninguém verá exércitos russos a marchar pela nossa Europa fora. A guerra será feita de forma diferente.
E é nesta situação perigosa em que nos encontramos em que cada vez há mais dúvidas sobre o arsenal nuclear americano e a sua real capacidade em caso de conflito nuclear.
E os testes que têm falhado, ficam-se pelos Minuteman III? Não, tem havido algo muito curioso também. Os testes dos mísseis Trident, usados pela marinha britânica, ou seja, por submarinos, têm feito das suas.
Trident missile test fails for second time in a row
The test firing of a Trident missile from a Royal Navy submarine has failed, for the second time in a row.
The latest test of the UK's nuclear deterrent was from HMS Vanguard and was seen by Defence Secretary Grant Shapps.
The missile's booster rockets failed and it landed in the sea close to the launch site, according to the Sun, which first reported the malfunction.
Mr Shapps said he has "absolute confidence" in Trident's submarines, missiles and nuclear warheads.
This is highly embarrassing for both the UK and the US manufacturer of the Trident missile.
British tests of Trident missiles are rare, not least because of the cost. Each missile is worth around £17m and the last test in 2016 also ended in failure when the missile veered off course...
Portanto, algumas coisas importantes a reter sobre os ingleses. A componente nuclear resume-se a 4 submarinos armados com mísseis Trident.
E desde 2016, que os testes que têm efectuado para verificar a sua operacionalidade têm falhado, mais, o último teste feito pela marinha inglesa com sucesso, foi em 2012, ou seja, os ingleses estão há mais de uma década, mais concretamente 12 anos, desde o último teste efectuado com sucesso.
Será que isto dá confiança a alguém, de que os ingleses mantêm a sua capacidade nuclear intacta...?
E não podemos esquecer algo mais. Estes mísseis também são fabricados pelos americanos. O que demonstra a completa dependência inglesa dos americanos na esfera nuclear.
Numa altura em que cada vez mais é preciso demonstrar que se tem um sistema nuclear robusto, as dúvidas começam a surgir.
E estamos a falar da superpotência que está no topo da pirâmide.
Não deveria haver dúvidas.
Mas elas estão aí.
Post anterior:
P.S. Sistema Anti-Míssil
Já que falamos de mísseis, vou fazer um pequeno reparo sobre os mísseis que são supostos serem a defesa de um ataque.
Two of Three Missile Defense Tests Fail
June 2021
Two out of three flight tests, which aimed to integrate the Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile systems, failed because of software problems, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in April.
The Patriot weapons system is an air and missile defense system that can intercept short- and medium-range ballistic missiles in their terminal stage at low altitudes. The THAAD system is a mobile ground-based system that can defend against short-, medium-, and certain intermediate-range ballistic missile attacks at the end of their midcourse and terminal flight stages, thereby allowing interceptors to engage their targets at higher altitudes than the Patriot system would allow.
The flight tests, conducted jointly in October 2019, February 2020, and October 2020 by the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Army, were intended to support what the MDA called an “an urgent regional capability called Patriot Launch-on-Remote (THAAD).”..
Sim, é assim que as coisas estão.
Mal.