FYI we aren't giving away ALL the weaponry to Ukraine. This was news to me.

[Mushroom]

I know what we use today does not much resemble the Patriots we used in GW1.

LOL, actually they do. Since the Gulf War, the only thing you would see different is that they have replaced the generator with a different model, and added a GPS antenna on the mast. That's it, all the other changes are internal. I was actually on the PAC-3+ team, and about the only changes we had to do were replacing some of the computer cards inside.

Not sure what all you think is different, the system used today is almost entirely the same.

Oh, and the connections for the missiles? All the same, but for the PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE. They retain the same canisters because that is how they mount on the launcher.

 

[Ringo]

North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as US air carrier arrives in South

North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal, state media said on Tuesday, as a U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea for military drills.

www.reuters.com

 

[JohnDB]

North Korea unveils new nuclear warheads as US air carrier arrives in South

North Korea unveiled new, smaller nuclear warheads and vowed to produce more weapons-grade nuclear material to expand its arsenal, state media said on Tuesday, as a U.S. aircraft carrier arrived in South Korea for military drills.

www.reuters.com

I would be very surprised if North Korea actually produced a viable nuclear weapon. I would more expect that they might produce a dirty bomb instead of anything viable.

Every "nuclear test" they have done previously has been nothing more than a stack of TNT blown up. Not a nuclear reaction which has a very definite seismic signature. They, at one time, had secured enough material to produce one device. Not the plurality of ones that they currently claim.
Their rocket technology is still rather primitive....I would be impressed if they actually could hit anything with it. It's easy to build a rocket....it's much more difficult to get it to hit a specific target a thousand kilometers away and explode a half second after impact or a half second before impact.

The USA on the other hand can, will, and has launched missiles and hit the exact window aimed at in a building 5,000 km away from the launch site. Huge difference.

 

[Mushroom]

Every "nuclear test" they have done previously has been nothing more than a stack of TNT blown up. Not a nuclear reaction which has a very definite seismic signature. They, at one time, had secured enough material to produce one device. Not the plurality of ones that they currently claim.

Oh no, a lot of them have been nuclear detonations. However, it is also known that more than a few of them are "fizzles".

However, their "securing enough material" is completely irrelevant, as they themselves are a uranium producer nation as their country has some significant uranium reserves. Where do you think Japan got the uranium for their Ni-Go project?

 

[JohnDB]

Oh no, a lot of them have been nuclear detonations. However, it is also known that more than a few of them are "fizzles".

However, their "securing enough material" is completely irrelevant, as they themselves are a uranium producer nation as their country has some significant uranium reserves. Where do you think Japan got the uranium for their Ni-Go project?

I thought they got it in Afghanistan like Russia did. Afghanistan has the deposits from their geological formations...

N Korea, as does Moldovia, has some rare earth metals but that was it. Didn't know they had any uranium.

 

[Mushroom]

I thought they got it in Afghanistan like Russia did. Afghanistan has the deposits from their geological formations...

N Korea, as does Moldovia, has some rare earth metals but that was it. Didn't know they had any uranium.

They have two major uranium mines. At Pakchon an Pyongsan. And Pyongsan has been mined for around 100 years, as even before nuclear fission was known uranium was used in pottery and glassware.

Japan was actually known for making "Uranium Glass" even before WWII, and most of the uranium came from the Chosin Prefecture (modern Korea). When they realized early in WWII that atomic weapons were possible they already knew right where to get it.

Japan was also well known for making pottery before the war with a uranium glaze. It produces a brilliant red hue most times.

And curiously enough, it was also commonly used in dentures at one time. As adding uranium powder to the porcelain makes the artificial teeth shine more brightly.