Seoul, Tokyo vow to shoot down any N Korean rocket debris

South Korea and Japan vowed to shoot down any debris that falls on their territories

What's the point in shooting down debris that's already falling...eh... down?

They have to say something to not appear as powerless as they are. Giving this a huge headline is a bit embarrassing though.

Shooting down debris is a pretty big about face from shooting down the rocket itself.

And anyway, won't shooting debris just create more debris?

Who is going to shoot down the debris from shooting the debris?

Smithy - I was just wondering the same. Who's going to shoot down the debris from the anti - missile debris?

What's the point in shooting down debris that's already falling...eh... down?

It matters to the people in the path of the debris, which once again will be over and near Okinawa through to the Sakishima and Yaeyama Islands.

We have heard this before -- it never happens.

YEAH, (so said / says Yubaru) WE in Okinawa care, shoot that mo' fo' DOWN:

shoot down any N Korean rocket debris

A little muscle-flexing by JPN-SK, hey I kinda' like that. The north koreans have been firing rodongs here & there over the years like its their own private 4th of July. Its about time JPN-SK start pressing red buttons too. I doubt the north koreans are quaking n' their boots though.

China should just blow it to pieces minutes after it leaves the launch pad. What's Kim going to do? Throw a hissy fit maybe.

Patriot Missile

Unit cost US$1 to 6 million

To shoot down a fairing.

YEAH, (so said / says Yubaru) WE in Okinawa care, shoot that mo' fo' DOWN:

And rightfully so. when it's one's own ass in the line of fire anything that can help protect you is appreciated. Even the Okinawan people get pretty damn quiet about Futenma, the Osprey's etc, when Kim Chan, or the Chinese ratchet up activity in the area.

I got 14 thumbs down for saying yesterday to blow it out of the sky. Why?

Why not? Someday I would hope that you will realize that life isn't about whether or not people agree with you all the time. Be satisfied that people at least had the courtesy to read your post. If you are looking for love or instant gratification I would suggest visiting a soapland, less hassle, relieves stress, and as a bonus you get a shower too!

Boy, That'll send a strong message. Since the North is violating U.N. resolutions, why not just shoot down the missle? That would send a much stronger message and I think it highly unlikely that Kim-boy would risk a war that he would surely lose.

The debris doesn't seem likely to "evaporate"

The Buk missile that took down the Malaysian airliner generates a cloud of shrapnel. Wikipedia says PAC-2 uses a fragmentation blast like the Buk, and PAC-3 and THAAD are kinetic kill vehicles, they will blast through the target with a solid warhead, like a bullet. The scenario in the wikipedia page for the PAC-3 has two missiles going up, the first to kill the incoming missile and the second to take out a falling warhead from the killed missile.

But not blasted to atoms, for any of them. The junk is still going to fall.

Remember-Japan must wait according to the Constitution until the rocket or missile, including the debris,is directly above the boundaries of the column of air around Japan as outlined on a map by the lines on the international map. What does that really mean? Self Defense Forces can do nothing. Buy a construction grade, yellow hard hat!

how would we know if they shot the debri down.if they miss will it float away?

I imagine there will be no debris left after they hit it with some anti air missiles. Everything will just evaporate so to speak.

Nice to see them united on something.

Too much talk and time for action. China flexed its' muscle, Russia flexed theirs meanwhile Obama who is in charge of our ally gives Japan more hot air. Forget the shrapnel and ignore the outcry by other countries. Japan can do the world a favor by doing more than shooting down few worthless junk parts.

You want a stage of a rocket falling on your house or postage stamp sized fragments? It (debris thing) won't happen anyway. It's all an exercise for both sides to show what they COULD do? US/Japan/Sth Korea see what Nth Korea do to get prepped, Nth Korea and a giggling China see what Sth Korea and Japan do to get prepped. If the Kim Family ever get a rocket and nuc worked out, do you really think China and the US would let it get far? The US is safe. They are not going to let one off 90 km from home. Japan has a right to be nervous, though.

Matthew HardingFEB. 04, 2016 - 08:17PM JST I imagine there will be no debris left after they hit it with some anti air missiles. Everything will just evaporate so to speak.

Shooting down a jettisoned stage of a rocket falling from the sky with a surface to air missile is a bit more of a challenge that hitting a duck with a 20-gauge. This is why the U.S military has not bothered to pursue the ABM system purposed for defending the West Coast of the U.S. - about a reliable as an NYC street corner Rolex.

Wc626FEB. 05, 2016 - 12:33AM JST . . . LoL. & Some JT posters say China are NOT Communists.

Well, that would be the case because PRC ceased to be communist in the 1980s when they decided to create a state capitalist economy and allow a gradual increase in private equity, private property, etc., etc.

Why is it that people poorly versed in political science conflate state monopolies and control authoritarianism with economic systems? Except for a fixation on Jews (though I suppose one could substitute the modest Christian population), how different are what Germany became on the eve of WWII and how Mainland China has evolved? How different today is Mainland China from Saudi Arabia or Egypt?

I'll give you a hint, no appreciable difference except, maybe, alcohol being legal in China.

I got 14 thumbs down for saying yesterday to blow it out of the sky. Why?

Seems like everyone is agreeing with me now.

Gobshite

"South Korea and Japan vowed to shoot down any debris that falls on their territories"

What's the point in shooting down debris that's already falling...eh... down?

It's not a really accurate sentence, instead of debris they should have written "parts of the missile", and instead of "falls" they should have written "on course for".

The first stage of the missile is powered by red fuming nitric acid and kerosene, the second stage is a bit more mysterious, but the propellants are probably toxic.

Even when the rocket engines stop, there is still a considerable amount of fuel in the rockets: If a stage came down in an inhabited area, it could be as bad as a chemical warfare attack.

@AsianGaijin. That would be nice. But the reality is that their comradeship is based upon . . . well -Communism. Their cornerstone foundation. China wouldn't blast it after it leaves the launch pad, no way n' hell.

. . . LoL. & Some JT posters say China are NOT Communists.

Matthew HardingFEB. 04, 2016 - 08:17PM JST I imagine there will be no debris left after they hit it with some anti air missiles. Everything will just evaporate so to speak.

Shooting down a jettisoned stage of a rocket falling from the sky with a surface to air missile is a bit more of a challenge that hitting a duck with a 20-gauge. This is why the U.S military has not bothered to pursue the ABM system purposed for defending the West Coast of the U.S. - about a reliable as an NYC street corner Rolex.

Sorry if I messed up the quote thing, I'm still getting the hang of this website formatting. But Jeff, is it really fair to compare Aegis anti missile defense technology with a shotgun? One is a sophisticated tracking system which has is capable of hitting multiple missiles in mid air approaching from multiple locations, whereas a shotgun is more of a "spray and pray" if you will. If anything is going to hit that dud North Korea is putting up in the sky, my money would be on the Aegis equipped ships and the aircrafts. Isn't it better than just watching it fall on your country anyway?