American SM-3 ballistic missile site in Poland by 2018

I'll agree on one thing. China, eventually, will be a much bigger foe for the US than the Soviet Union ever was!. The Cold War bankrupted the Soviet state. Meanwhile China has over 3 trillion dollars in foreign exchange reserves. While the US is bankrupt, except from what it collects annually in taxes and a few hundred billion in gold reserves.

U.S. Navy has grown backward and fat from a lack of real competition for the last 50 years. Going to be a really expensive mistake when those carriers start sinking one day.

Look at what happened to the Battleship during World War II. It was already pretty evident, but most refused to see that the age of big battleships with humongous guns was ending. Look at what happened when the Royal Navy (a navy mostly based on battleships) fought the Imperial Japanese Navy (a navy mostly based on carriers). Royal Navy got pwned until they learned. Some years later, only a few countries still had battleships. Carriers became the all-rage in the biggest navies, except in the Soviet Navy, which was mostly submarine-based.

Another example is trench warfare. Everyone in WWI came armed with machineguns, deadly artillery guns and all-new small arms that could shoot faster than ever. They were still fighting with Civil War trench tactics, cavalry and human wave attacks. Everyone thought that the war was something that you could just send mail to your parents titled "brb soon, I'm going to Paris/Berlin for some months. Love, your son", run to the nearest recruiters and then finish the war in time to get home for christimas with ma and pa. This is why the French lost WWII, WWI was a immense shock to France. They thought the second war was going to be another round of trench warfare, and this time, they would have the Maginot Line and the Krauts would not. And then the tanks and mechanized infantry came north though the Benelux, completely bypassing The Best Fortifications Ever.

Why do you people think war with China is even a remote possibility? It isnt. At least in our lifetimes.

China's economy relies on American dollars way too much. America relies on Chinese labor way too much. We are unofficially best friends forever.

War with China? Not in your wildest anti-American dreams.....

Yes but this was simply follow-on to a question regarding America's military capabilities rather than predictions or desires.

Most of us appear to believe neither has the capability to invade the other with any real chance of success. One or two folks seem to feel otherwise.

agree. no way in hell

Going back to the original discussion will the newest version of the SM-3 be a protective, effective umbrella for Poland?

Effectiive to what extent?

I'd categorize it as pretty limited effectiveness beyond having to engage 3-4 missiles in an event.

Magazine size is going to be a factor. Number of launchers and deployment space is limited.

So far 1 site with 24 missiles is planned right on the northern border with Russia.

I think Poland's best bet on defense with it's rather limited military budget is large quantities of anti tank, anti aircraft, anti ship missiles. Poland can't really afford frigates, tanks, stealth fighters.

military.com/video/forces/military-foreign-forces/polish-army-firepower-2013/2096535314001

edition.cnn.com/2013/02/22/world/f-35-grounded/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
First the F-22 RAPTOR was grounded permanently, robbing USA of it's sole Stealth Capable Multi Purpose 5th Generation Fighter Jet. As of yet, a critical flaw of the F-22 that shuts off a pilots oxygen during high G maneuvers, typically used in dog fighting, has not yet been fixed.

Now, the J-35 a 4th (or 4.5th if you will) has been grounded, due to a flaw.

USA can no longer into aeronautical engineering anymore. I guess that's no longer surprising: When you cannot even build calculators anymore, you an be sure everything else in your engineering portfolio will become sh*t as well. But that's ok, China and it's under 10 year old slave laborforce will pick up the slack, just as wallstreet lefists want.

Meanwhile the sole 5th Generation Fighter Jet of the world now belongs and is operated by Russia, manufactured by the Sukhoi Federation aka the Sukhoi T-50.

Are we still expecting USA' help in the face of Russian invasion?

So the US has abandoned the final stage of the US missile defense in Poland. The final stage called for placing Block IIA long range version of the SM3 missile in Poland, now it's been downsized to the shorter range IB which can counter medium range missiles. The US has assured Poland that it's not a move to appease the Russians but to deal with the North Korean thread. Yeah right, even if the North Koreans can threaten Alaska, Putin or was it Miediediev waiting for a response from Obama on the matter got a reply "wait until I get reelected"

cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57574900/u.s-reassures-poland-over-missile-defense-changes/

yeah, this guy is a joke.

Obama's a wimp, scared of Russia. Bush wasn't perfect by far but he didn't give a **** how mad Russia got, he was gonna place the THAAD missiles, not these 'improvised' Patriots.

yep, Bush sucked too but Obama is the worst president we've ever had here.

Oil's Critical Leverage and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

India and Pakistan are now joint observers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which, if it works, will tend to bring about closer integration of the Asian countries altogether. So is Iran, and the Central Asian states, China of course, and Russia too. So it's basically the whole region except for South Korea has joined. And Japan probably won't join.

Asia and Pacific

The Missile Defense Agency is eyeing the use of Raytheon's Land-Based SM-3 for a regional defense for Europe against a ballistic missile attack, most likely from Iran.

lol, yeah sure, the only country of european region that has got such ballistic missiles is russia.
just trying to imagine russian butthurt if its finally installed here

The only ones who think Iran's nuclear threat is real is the US and its allies, not the rest of the world, the rest of the world regards the US as the greatest threat.

The only reason the US has named Iran's nuclear program as the threat is that the US is afraid that Iran may be the first country that would oppose the right to threaten anyone with destruction, anywhere without threat of retaliation.

And still you need visa to go to the US...

Israeli Jews too, so what?

Buy me a ticket, I'll switch places with you

Only deranged Zionists see Iran as a threat and America joins the cacophony because it is has become a vassal of Israel due to political corruption at the highest levels. The 2012 UN vote recognizing the State of Palestine is proof that virtually all of America's allies don't support Israel.

The SM-3 IB (intended for Romania) has proven itself in a recent test. The missile successfully intercepted a target in space and will move forward into production stage. Meanwhile construction has already started on the Romanian missile site which is to be fully operational by 2015. Raytheon has also moved from designing to building the SM-3 IIA version which will be based in Poland said Wes Kremer, vice president of Air and Missile Defense Systems at Raytheon Missile Systems during a conference in Warsaw. raytheon.com/newsroom/feature/rms13_sm3_poland/

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Poland may well join the development (with Germany and Italy) and production of MEADS en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium_Extended_Air_Defense_System

It will cost $3-4 billion but would give a mobile defense network against aircraft, and missiles (including ballistic). That will stop the Russians in their path.

Going to spend $8.4billion in total. nti.org/gsn/article/poland-may-spend-much-84-billion-a ir-and-missile-defenses/

MEADS is a much better option than being completely dependent on foreign powers. It would be better though if this was done entirely as an EU strategy rather than needlessly involve Americans etc. A European approach would mean that Poland has at least some say in what weapons are where.

Well the SM-3s wont be Poland's just stationed there and the MEADS system would be part of the Polish Armed Forces. You can't compare the MEADS system to the SM-3 IIA which will have a much greater range, altitude and anti-missile capabilities. The MEADS system will have a range of 120 km and a ceiling of 30 km, capable of shooting down short-medium range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, UAVs and aircraft. The other option Poland is considering is the French Aster-30 which is rated very high, perhaps even more than the MEADS.

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  SM-3 missile variants
  

MEADS is a completely different system, however its designed to control any missile type which could include the SM-3, if they were under Polish military control (which they won't be).

we are in war with them now it is called a currency war, and U.S. is trying to keep resources from China. just like beginning of ww2.