NBC Weapons: Poland Becomes Ground Zero

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NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS


August 18, 2008:?? Poland has finally agreed to allow the placement of U.S. anti-missiles systems on their territory. This will consist of ten silos for the GBI (Ground Based Interceptors). This is a 12.7 ton ballistic missile that delivers a 140 pound "kill vehicle" that will intercept a ballistic missile before it begins its descent into the atmosphere. The GBI kill vehicle attempts to destroy the incoming missile, while avoiding decoys.


The U.S. already has 21 GBIs deployed in Alaska and three in California. The GBI can receive target information from a variety of source, mainly a large X-band radar and space based sensors (that can detect ballistic missiles during their initial launch.) The Czech Republic has agreed to allow an X-band radar to be set up on its territory. The U.S. plans to install 5-10 GBIs a year over the next few years. Each GBI costs over $100 million (up to several hundred million dollars, depending on how many are built and how you allocated development costs.) The GBI can intercept ballistic missiles launched from as far away as 5,000 kilometers. .

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