Kim Jong Un has threatened to attack the United States and had identified some probable targets out of which Alaska was one. Therefore the soldiers who man the Fort Greely facilities are preparing to face any situation and are carrying out drills to shoot down incoming missiles from North Korea.
The plan is to use GBIs, or ground-based interceptors, to tackle the threat and these will be launched from Fort Greely which is equipped with the Missile Defense Complex. This base in Alaska is labeled as America's last resort against an ICBM.
The Missile Defense Complex
CNN reports that the Missile Defense Complex in Alaska is located nearly 150 miles outside of Fairbanks. The missiles are stored underground in silos, are concealed by clamshell openings and always ready for launch. The number of missiles that it now has will be augmented by the end of the year.
The success rate of the interceptors, to shoot down an incoming ICBM, is currently around 60%. Data from the Missile Defense Agency indicates ten success out of 18 tests conducted and the failure rate is attributed to the learning process. The cost of the program is around $40 billion till date and is an insurance policy against threats of North Korea.
The soldiers, some of them women, who are associated with this setup have to work in extreme weather conditions with temperatures that, at times, go to 40 below zero with little daylight in winter.
How will the threats end?
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has identified three probable US targets – Alaska, Guam, and Haiti. He has already launched one ballistic missile that flew over Japan and landed in the Pacific Ocean and has threatened to send much more towards Guam which is a United States military base.
America has positioned its warships in the Korean peninsula and has also given its ally South Korea the THAAD missile defense system to destroy incoming missiles.
Kim’s agenda is to nuke America, and he continues to improve his missiles and associated delivery systems. Once he attains perfection, he could train his sights on other locations.
Kim is determined to carry on with his ambitious nuclear plans in spite of sanctions, and it can be assumed that he has evolved methods to sidestep such bans.
The war rooms must be working overtime to evolve strategies to counter the threats because no one wants a major conflict with nuclear weapons. In case of any error in the launch parameters, the missile could land in a location other than the one targeted. An unpredictable leadership in Pyongyang is a danger to not only the U.S. but also to the whole world, and everyone will have to be prepared to face any eventuality.
