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The tragedy of war is that it uses man's best to do man's worst.
-Henry Fosdick

You think that's future tech, look up "rods from god".

Version A shatters the target, Version B liquefies it. And by target i mean something like an office building.

Actually the Rods from God concept if older than the 80's.

It was envisioned in the 60's when they came up with the idea of the heat shielding from the shuttle.

The rods do NOT have to be as large as the article says.
The original concept was for a hundred rods to be in one satellite. Each only one inch in diameter and simple steel tipped with a small 6 inch heat shield and having small guidance fins on the tail end.
Each one launched by a simple spring. No fuel or retro rockets.

As I recall a six foot long one inch diameter rod would vaporise an area the size of a football field.


With our new guidance technology and miniature motors and batteries I can see a complete system inside a 2 inch diameter tube four foot long and about one hundred pounds each.
A compact system that can be built, launched and used with the tech we have now.
Heck a small radar unit could probably look through the heat shield material. that plus a nice GPS system and you might be able to hit a moving target. IE a ship.

For a simple self destruct just destroy the heat shield soon enough on entry and the arrow will burn up in the atmosphere.


But this is all just theory and the US Airforce would never think of making such a simple thing just for testing.

__________________
When asked about his experience Obama said,"But I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Democrats.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Again.

Only context i'm familiar with the term rods from god being used was much more recent, even if the term is older. It was identified in an Air Force study as a one of three practical space based weapons that is has R&D money currently. In this version the rods are not guided at all and are fired from a rail gun. But, it does require a laser to vaporize the atmosphere, and i'd assume equalize temperature, around the rod to prevent it from being pushed off course. That is further off than a rail gun. Prototype rail guns are being built now though for ships and tanks.

__________________
When asked about his experience Obama said,"But I slept at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

Democrats.
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
Again.