Can the US intercept missiles?

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

The Phalanx is designed to destroy guidance systems and control surfaces of the incoming missile.

 

[Rigby5]

The warhead of a ballistic missile is too small and too well shielded for a vulcan machine gun to harm.
And if it did cause a premature detonation, there would be an explosion, not flames and smoke.

Vulcans are not made to shoot down ballistic missiles, they can't. They do not elevate anywhere near far enough to even hope to hit one.

As always, you are just vomiting up a bunch of nonsense and trying to completely confuse the issue. If you can not even keep straight what kind of missile a system is designed to hit, why are you even spouting off like this?

Wrong, a phalanx is a Vulcan machine gun, and can elevate directly vertical.

Missiles intended to his a large, stationary base, likely are ballistic.
The only reason it is necessary to use the word "ballistic" was to differentiate from cruise missiles, which may be possible to shoot down with a phalanx. Ships can benefit from a phalanx because they will be attacked with cruise missiles. Stationary bases can not because they will be attacked with ballistic missiles that have too much shielding.

 

[Marion Morrison]

We has what we has, who wants to blow the world up for nothing?

 

[Rigby5]

The 20mm vulcan machinegun has only a very tiny amount of explosive.
Not nearly enough to penetrate any warhead.

And this is typical of your posts, which shows that you do not have a single clue of what you are talking about and make it all up as you go.

The Phalanx, CIWS, SHORAD, Vulcan, whatever you want to call it does not use explosive shells at all. It uses a mix of tungsten and depleted uranium to cause a hard kinetic kill. There are no explosives in them at all.

And not only is it not a "machine gun", there are no explosives in the gun either.

But please, this is funny. Please provide your verifiable and reliable reference that the CIWS uses explosive rounds.

Vulcan machineguns most certainly can have explosive warheads, and since the other poster was suggesting their use, the point is to show why the use of explosive 20mm would not help.
And "phalanx, CIWS, SHORAD, vulcan" most certainly DO use explosives for propulsion.
What do you think they use instead, compressed air, electronic rail acceleration, etc?

 

[Rigby5]

The Phalanx is designed to destroy guidance systems and control surfaces of the incoming missile.

Correct, and that can not prevent the warhead from still hitting near its target, and detonating.
It can help save a ship from an individual incoming, but not a whole base from a large concerted attack.

 

[tycho1572]

 

[Mushroom]

Missiles intended to his a large, stationary base, likely are ballistic.
The only reason it is necessary to use the word "ballistic" was to differentiate from cruise missiles, which may be possible to shoot down with a phalanx. Ships can benefit from a phalanx because they will be attacked with cruise missiles. Stationary bases can not because they will be attacked with ballistic missiles that have too much shielding.

Oh yes, so true. And exactly how many ballistic missiles have we used against targets in the last 50 years?

And how many Cruise Missiles have we used?

You see, this is the problem. You really do not know or understand this "military stuff", so you just make things up to try and validate your beliefs. The only problem is, they are almost all wrong. Quite literally with every single post you make I am able to tear it apart without even thinking about it.

And yes, CIWS can elevate, up to +85 degrees. But only in an arc that is not obstructed. Which on a ship means straight out from the gun (otherwise it will literally be shooting the ship itself). And by their very nature, a ballistic missile comes almost straight down. Almost impossible for CIWS to acquire and engage.

And there is another reason the NAVY never considers CIWS for use against ballistic missiles. If it is not going to hit the ship, no reason to shoot it. And we have other things that we can shoot at ballistic missiles, like SM-2 and SM-3.

Now C-RAM has less of an issue with this, because there is no superstructure around it. It is literally a CIWS placed on a trailer. So it can fire from -15 degrees to +85 degrees in a 360 degree circle. But it is still unable to fire at something directly over itself.

And this is why I mentioned firing at a target 100 meters away. This gives it the proper elevation to at least try and hit it before it impacts.

Oh yes, and in addition to PATRIOT, THAAD, STINGER and AVENGER, I have also been trained in the operation of C-RAM. That was one of the great things about being at Fort Bliss, that is the home of Air Defense, so we get a chance to play with all kinds of things like that.

 

[Mushroom]

Wrong, a phalanx is a Vulcan machine gun, and can elevate directly vertical.

No, it is a "multi-barrel rotary cannon". That is not a "machine gun". They are not the same, they are not even close. No more than an M-16 or AK-47 is a "machine gun". There are vast differences between them, they are not even close.

And they can not elevate "directly vertical". So please show me where it can. I have already given you the absolute elevation abilities. An ability which is really only available on C-RAM. Because if it tried that on a ship it would be shooting the ship.

Vulcan machineguns most certainly can have explosive warheads, and since the other poster was suggesting their use, the point is to show why the use of explosive 20mm would not help.
And "phalanx, CIWS, SHORAD, vulcan" most certainly DO use explosives for propulsion.
What do you think they use instead, compressed air, electronic rail acceleration, etc?

If it uses explosive warheads, then you should be able to easily prove that.

And yes, they use explosives for propulsion, just as does any bullet. But calling a Tungsten-DU round "explosive" because of how it is fired is like calling a 5.56mm NATO bullet "explosive". Or the 9mm bullet in my M9 service pistol "explosive".

Oh, and yes I am aware that they are working on a tracer round that "explodes". But this is not for the explosive effect, it is so the tracer round will "explode" in the air and not on the ground, therefore starting fires and injuring personnel with the phosphorous or other material that makes them "tracer" rounds in the first place.

Even on regular military ranges, thousands of fires are started each year because of tracer rounds. Many bases now prohibit their even being used because of this. By designing a round that will "explode", the hope is that the phosphorous centers will scatter and burn up before hitting the ground.