NationStates Jolt Archive

Part of the success of Pandora's Box is a device called ground based, over the horizon radar.

http://www.fas.org/spp/starwars/program/soviet/steelyard_map.gif

One of my other posts showed a diagram of the positions of the sats themselves. And there are many sattelites in the PB program.

Basically, it allows you to see missiles and planes that are launched from the other side of the globe and give you enough time to determine their destination and their intent.

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v245/vetobob/planes and SDI/PandorasBoxsystemdiagram.gif

OOC: Sounds nice. Why the name choice though? Sounds like what some mad scientist would name his doomsday device.

And... that last pick is a little red x.

This probably seems like a dumb question to most, but what are horizontal radars?

OOC: Sounds nice. Why the name choice though? Sounds like what some mad scientist would name his doomsday device.

And... that last pick is a little red x.
I know. What happened to the pic?
Try clicking here.
http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v245/vetobob/planesandSDI/PandorasBoxsystemdiagram.gif

Originally it was intended to assist in socialist domination of the world but as the government of Whittier's policies changed from one of estrangement to one of engagement of befriendment, the purpose of Pandora's Box changed from one of attack to one of defense. PB in addition to being armed with lasers, holds over 3,000 nuclear armed ICBM's that were at one point pointed at certain nations on earth such as South Pacific and Menelmacar and several others.
After a new leader was elected in Whittier, he instituted glasnost and perestroika. Nonagression treaties were signed and the nuclear missiles were turned to point outward. The purpose of the lasers was to destroy anti sat missiles and other weapons that might be fired at Pandora's Box. The purpose being to save the nukes.
As you can see, instead being used to save nukes, PB is today being used to destroy them.
While the purpose of PB has changed, the name has stuck.

Pic won't show. sorry.

what is the hit percentage example: 1,000 ICBMs launched, flight time of 10 minutes

what is the hit percentage example: 1,000 ICBMs launched, flight time of 10 minutes
Well, it depends on how many ICBM's are launched. Cause the system was built to defend against a nuclear attack from the South Pacific, a nation that, like Whittier, has 15,000 nuclear tipped ICBM, Pandora's Box can handle up to 15,100 ICBM's at one time.
Any more than that and you run into slight problems depending on how fast the missiles are moving. Fortunately, in modern tech, there are no ICBM's that move at warp speed. The further below the 15,100 mark you go, the higher the success rate for Pandora's Box.
So destroying 1,000 or 2,000 nukes would be easy for Pandora's Box and destroying anything at 1,000 or below is child's play.
Now if someone managed to have 20,000 or so, and launch them all, then some would inevitably get through as PB was not designed to handle that many ICBM's.
So as the number of nukes launched goes upward above 15,000 the hit percentage starts declining. Especially when you factor in the speed. If the missiles are moving slowly, its gauranteed that all them will be shot down, even if there are 20,000 of them.

what about TLAMs?

Theoretically, couldn't Pandora's box be turned into a weapon once again and used to destroy anyone at a whim?

This probably seems like a dumb question to most, but what are horizontal radars?
Over the horizon radars are ground based radars that can see on the other side of the planet. Hence the name "Over the Horizon".

what about TLAMs?
TLAM. Please write that out as I don't know what the abbrev. stands for.

Theoretically, couldn't Pandora's box be turned into a weapon once again and used to destroy anyone at a whim?
It could destroy a lot of nations at the same time. Let's just say it could wipe out all of Europe, North america, south america, africa, australia, Russia, the middle east and at least part of asia.

The likelyhood of this happening is nill. Whittier is unlikely to fall under the rule of a despotic dictator anytime in the near future. And it would be almost impossible for terrorists or some rogue nation to seize unauthorized control.
Pandora's Box is probably the most heavily guarded weapons system in NS.
The guards are switched out every 5 months and they are given psychological exams to prevent wack jobs from being given an opportunity to take out their psychoticism on the people of earth.
We have computer whizs who constantly change the password for the system every 5 hours. The password being composed of approximately 12,345 characters. Each year the number of characters in the password goes up by a random amount to make it more difficult for hacker groups to try and break into PB and cause an accidental nuclear launch.
You can rest assured that PB is safe and secure and in good hands.

I understand your cryptological security, but there is the problem of human beings possesing doomsday devices such as PB. Suppose your leaders, or governments whim changes. What would happen if someone who knew the owner key, and therefore did not need to crack the cypher, decided that they had had a change of heart towards a certain nation or the world and decided to unleash hell? Or perhaps a revolution in your fine nation. I am not sure that anything could prevent this destruction from falling on the heads of every nation in the world. I think perhaps a nation as grandiose as yours may want to consider the possibilities that such a creation might offer.

what about TLAMs?
TLAM. Please write that out as I don't know what the abbrev. stands for.
TLAM is the basic cruise missile used by the US military.

I understand your cryptological security, but there is the problem of human beings possesing doomsday devices such as PB. Suppose your leaders, or governments whim changes. What would happen if someone who knew the owner key, and therefore did not need to crack the cypher, decided that they had had a change of heart towards a certain nation or the world and decided to unleash hell? Or perhaps a revolution in your fine nation. I am not sure that anything could prevent this destruction from falling on the heads of every nation in the world. I think perhaps a nation as grandiose as yours may want to consider the possibilities that such a creation might offer.
Even if any of what you say were to happen, the world would still be protected by the system called MAD.
While we do have 15,000 ICBM's, the US of the South Pacific has an equal number and there are a lot of other nations who also possess nukes of their own and their own SDI's though their SDI's are probably not as thorough and accurate as PB. Then again most nations have never been threatend with nuclear annihilation with more than 15,000 nukes from more than 35 nuclear capable nations.

MAD does mean the end of human life on Earth, however. All i am saying is take into account the god like power you hold in your hands, friend.

what about TLAMs?
TLAM. Please write that out as I don't know what the abbrev. stands for.
TLAM is the basic cruise missile used by the US military.
Well, if it has a nuclear warhead, PB would shoot it down. Though identifying the warhead would be a little more difficult than it would be for a cruise missile or ICBM.

MAD does mean the end of human life on Earth, however. All i am saying is take into account the god like power you hold in your hands, friend.
That's why we don't use it often. Only to save nations from nuclear attacks by other nations.
Though it is likely that if Whittier were to collapse and PB left to its own devices, it would continue to defend the world against nuclear holocaust until its orbit degraded such that it finally began burning up in the atmosphere.

OCC: Such Technology has been Around in RL for some time, Australia has a few of these Systems and they can actually see Stealth Aircraft.

OCC: Such Technology has been Around in RL for some time, Australia has a few of these Systems and they can actually see Stealth Aircraft.
That's why we always have fighters in the air to destroy enemy stealth fighters while they are on their way.

OOC: Just imagine if the US were to attack Russia during the cold war, the Russians would have seen the planes taking off and had time to get their own planes in the air. Same with the missiles.
Basically, this tech. would have helped Russia win World War III.
Reagan was right. At the time he was elected, the Russians were ahead of America in everything. Including technology. But Gorbachev let everything fall apart over there. Or else the Russians would have already had a man on Mars.

OOC:ACTUALLY! The Russians were behind in technology and even tactics!(then tactics used by Iraq were the same tactics that WOULD HAVE been used by the Russians)

OOC:ACTUALLY! The Russians were behind in technology and even tactics!(then tactics used by Iraq were the same tactics that WOULD HAVE been used by the Russians)
Iraq adapted the tactics. Remember the Iraqiis were buffoons when it came to war. They couldn't even defend their own daughters.

Russia had a good military strategy. And if you knew anything, and rl world has already acknowledged that the Russians were ahead technologically. But if you want to fall for the falsehood that Russia was a third world nation during the cold war despite the fact that there is mountains of recently released evidence to proves otherwise, that's your problem.

OOC:Russia was actually 2nd world... Also their economy sucked. They did uneconomical things. Granted, they are ahead in SOME areeas(such as tanks and mass-production techniques) but the old Soviet Union was idiotic... Red Army advisors too the Iraqis watched Russian equipment and tactics get blown away and informed Moscow that the jig was up so too say. Also they were stupid enough too fall into the "plan em into the ground" thing during their invasion of Afghanistan(the US did the same thing in Vietnam). They also lacked safety tchnology(hence Cheronybal and their attempt too get to the moon faliure). Thus I can safely say that I am right some and you are right some. The Russians WEREE ahead in some aspects... but in others they sucked.

double post

If they never made it to the moon, then why is there a soviet flag on the moon?

THERE IS!!!??? Where did you get that information??? According too the books I read(which I have lost count)(and the history channel AND the websites) on the space race, there was only one succesfull Soviet launch too the moon(This is REAL launches)... and that one carried a unmanned probe! What happened too that probe? It crashed on the moons surface. But seriously where did you get that information?