The radar can detect airborne ICBM warheads up to 2500 miles away.

Wikipedia

  • Skasi@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    The radar can detect airborne ICBM warheads up to 2500 miles away.

    For reference, that’s about 1/10th the circumference of the Earth.

    In SI units that’s about 4’000 kilometers. The Earth circumference is almost exactly 40’000 kilometers (by historical definition).

    • blterrible@lemmy.ml
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      8 months ago

      WiFi will probably creep in at the lower end of that soon. We’re only 2Ghz away!

      • ferret
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        8 months ago

        WiGig was 60Ghz, I would bet we would take a second stab at that before picking a new range.

    • SjmarfOP
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      8 months ago

      This is an old photograph from 2006, taken as the ship arrives at Pearl Harbour. The Radar was being moved from Corpus Christi, Texas.

  • Kiosade@lemmy.ca
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    8 months ago

    Wait, is THAT what those do? I used to see a bunch of them in the hills around a major airforce base. Jokingly called them the “Epcot” spheres.

    • SjmarfOP
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      8 months ago

      Yeah, they have a load of these radars at a military base near where I live in the UK. They’re called Radomes, but are commonly referred to as “The Golf Balls” around here lol

  • WorseDoughnut 🍩@lemdro.id
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    8 months ago

    How do they unload that? Do they kind of just tilt it into the water, or is there a giant crane freighter ship waiting at its destination?

    • SjmarfOP
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      8 months ago

      Blue Marlin is a semi-submersible ship, which means that it can lower itself partly underwater to allow its cargo to move on/off. The ship is designed primarily to move oil rigs around, with this being a special case. The radar itself is actually a converted oil rig.

      Blue Marlin preparing to offload an oil rig: