THAAD vs. the NORKS

"The joke used by the engineers at my company was the tolerances on this missile were so tight, we might have to rub it down with lubricant to make it fit."  

I found a story I read this week to be of great interest to me. Our President is finally decided to do something about the North Koreans (aka the NORKS). He is going to step up our "shield" using a program called THAAD. THAAD stands for Terminal High Altitude Aerial Defense. The company I worked at in the 1990's worked on that program. It is an Army program which has been around for years. In fact, in the 1990's it was also called THAAD, but back then the "T" stood for Theater instead of Terminal. 

It was thought back in the 1990's this Army anti-ballistic missile system could be even better if it could be adapted for Navy applications as well. One minor problem - this missile is a load. Even though it carries no warhead (it uses kinetic energy to take out enemy missiles in the terminal part of their flight), it is still huge. The problem and challenge facing the engineers at the company I worked for was how to fit this "pig" into a vertical launching canister. And not only make it fit, but have it egress properly and then hit the target.

The joke used by the engineers at my company was the tolerances on this missile were so tight, we might have to rub it down with lubricant to make it fit. But they did. And this missile has proven to be very effective in our nation's shield. How effective? Unknown to me, but probably not to the government. So between the Patriot system, THAAD and whatever else we have, hopefully we can blunt any attack the NORKS might launch towards us or any of our western Pacific allies. 

The big question I have is this - should the NORKS start something, what will our response be? Under the current President, maybe not much. Under a President Trump, unknown. He might just nuke them. Me? I would just favor a regime change. I am sick of these guys. Send some troops from Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and maybe us in there and topple that useless government. The people who live in North Korea deserve a life more like those who live in South Korea. To be reunified. Enough is enough.

For those who have never heard of THAAD, now you know a little. And a little is all I can remember about that program. It is nice to know however, there is at least something guarding us just incase the NORKS start to act naughty.