Can the U.S. Anti-Ballistic Missile System Protect Us?

Armageddon, Book III of the First Strike series, covers a theoretical war between China and the United States. It takes place in 2028 after North Korea launches an attack on the US from a 092 sub they acquired from China.

The headquarters for the US ABM system is in Colorado Springs, CO. That’s where intercepts of ballistic and hyper-glide missiles by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) would be attempted. The US has several ballistic phase intercept weapons that are secretly located in Mongolia.

The following is an excerpt from Armageddon:

October 28, 2027 – 1417 Hours North Lawn Bunker Washington, DC.
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Dr. Michael Lewis, Pentagon weapons expert, spoke in a soft, calm voice. “The Chinese will place the limited number of W-88 type warheads they have on their two best missiles, the DF-41A and the DF-5C. They both have a range of 17,000 kilometers even when carrying three warheads. If they launch, the entire United States will be within range of most of their missiles, regardless of whether they utilize a polar or a west-east trajectory.
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They’ve upgraded over the last three years and can probably attack us without flying their missiles over Russia. Those upgrades are most likely the result of their desire to have sufficient range to attack the United States without a Russian overflight. Russia’s economic spiral almost toppled Putin. He will not allow the use of Russian airspace.
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My contemporaries at the Agency estimate that the People's 312 Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) has approximately 425 to 500 warheads available on ICBMs, MRBMs, and IRBMs. Of the 200-plus ICBMs located in range of the United States, about 150 are LOW capable.” “What’s that?” It was a voice from the back. No one turned to embarrass the questioner. “Launch on Warning,” Lewis said. “Read over the handout we’re distributing. It outlines where the LOW ICBMS will be coming from—mostly silos in Yumen, Hami, and Hanggin. Those missiles can boost three reentry vehicles into a predictable, ballistic missile path. They will employ chaff and decoys. We also believe that the 644th Brigade in Hanzhong may have some newer DF-41AGs. These are highly mobile missiles that can be transported over rugged terrain.” Lewis gave everyone a chance to look over the handout. “The other major threat comes from the DF-5C. It’s a bigger rocket and can carry ten MIRVed RVs. Most likely, they will come from Base 25 at Wuzhai, the 401st Brigade at Luoning, or Xuanhua. Even though it is liquidfueled, it can be ready to go in as little as fifteen minutes. Several DF-5Cs are in the autonomous region of Tibet.” “What else?” Armstrong asked. “Well,” Lewis said, “the DF-31AG has been upgraded to a range of 15,000 kilometers. It is highly mobile like the DF-41AG and carries at least three warheads. Both the DF-41AG and the DF-31AG are solid-fueled. They need minimal prep time. The DF-31-AG, like all the other Chinese missiles, is highly accurate and has a CEP of 150 meters or less. The DF-41 AG is considered the superior missile. IRBM and MRBM Chinese weapons can easily reach Guam, Japan, and South Korea. Taiwan alone has over 2,000 missiles trained on it, a handful of which 313 carry nuclear warheads. Your red sheet identifies the types of missiles and other locations for PLARF brigades in China known to have ICBMs. “President Armstrong took a breath. “Okay,” he said. “What do we gain from a preemptive first strike?” It felt like all the air had been sucked out of the subterranean room. Lewis was the only person who did not flinch. “Well, sir,” he said, “you may be able to knock out a third of their ICBMs and 50 percent of their shorter-range missiles at best before they launch. All depends on where their missiles are when our warheads hit—at least that’s my opinion.”

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