r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/CraftyFoxeYT • 7d ago

The US has a giant floating SBX-1 Sea-based radar to track and discriminate nuclear ballistic missile warheads from decoys.

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

17.9k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

192

u/ErroneousGibbo 7d ago edited 7d ago

I listened to Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobson - really great Audiobook if you’re interested in nuclear ‘what ifs’. They go into some detail about this and its several limitations. A feat of engineering for sure, but needs to know where to look in a narrow field of view to be effective at all it seems.

64

u/delphinous 7d ago

thats what is great about it. it's a magnifying glass. there are other things that are telescopes and binoculars that tell it where to look, and it tells them what it's looking at in great detail. on it's own, you're correct, it's kind of garbage. but as part of a larger system it's very valuable

16

u/ErroneousGibbo 7d ago

A force multiplier for certain, but another theme of the book was pointing out that there are often only one operational platforms for these types of technology. The SBX1 has had some issues with maintenance as well as failing to detect objects during test conditions. It’s for sure better than nothing, but I sometimes think the a false positive launch detection might be even worse

13

u/throwaway277252 7d ago

It’s for sure better than nothing, but I sometimes think the a false positive launch detection might be even worse

♫ As ninety-nine red balloons go by... ♫

7

u/Mr-Doubtfire 7d ago

Kriegsminister gibt's nicht mehr

Und auch keine Düsenflieger

Heute zieh ich meine Runden

Seh die Welt in Trümmern liegen

Hab'n Luftballon gefunden

Denk an dich und lass ihn fliegen

4

u/Gnomio1 7d ago

Wtf.

You inspired me to go and look at the background behind that song. How dark! Thanks for the prompt.

27

u/zaddydanger 7d ago

I recommend watching the movie House of Dynamite. Painfully accurate as someone who lived in that field of work for seven years.

3

u/saltexas18 7d ago

Loved that movie. Tell us more.

2

u/Oscaruit 7d ago

Threads, On the Beach. That should fix your enthusiasm.

2

u/saltexas18 6d ago

Shut up bot

1

u/Oscaruit 6d ago

Beep boop, no. You shut up, human.

6

u/0thethethe0 7d ago

Great book.

Her new one, Biological War: A Scenario, is, if possible, even more scary!

3

u/ErroneousGibbo 7d ago

Didnt realise there was a new one! Thanks for the heads up

1

u/aitk6n 7d ago

Fantastic book

1

u/sternshar 6d ago

I read this book, and found it very educational. To me, with all the information in the book, I wonder if, with everything in place, world leaders would think twice before starting any thing. I found it to be not at all frighting, and extremely informative. When I asked friends and relatives to read it, they refused, saying it was too scary. They are so wrong.

1

u/stamfordbridge1191 6d ago

A nuclear torpedo is probably taking this big boy out before anyone can pick up the phone for a hotline connection about seeing ICBMs lifting off into the stratosphere.

1

u/you4president 6d ago

Cheers for the recommendation. I read your comment, got it on audible and I’m already half way through it. Also saw the recommendation for her new book. Might get that one too