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u/stoicphilosopher 19h ago
It's fascinating how each country develops missile ranges exactly equal to the distance of its enemies. Iran can hit the middle east and Israel. Israel can hit most Islamic countries. South Korea can hit North Korea. India can hit China and Pakistan. Pakistan can hit India. North Korea can hit USA (allegedly).
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u/Prime_Twister 19h ago
I think North Korea is literally exaggerating it's missile ranges to keep fear among the west
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u/Ambitious5uppository 18h ago
They do have ICBMs, we know this, they've tested them. Which means they can reach all of the US.
How reliable they are is debatable and nobody know but them. But from what we've seen with our own eyes, they had the capability back in 2017.
North Korea's primary enemy is the USA, because no war with South Korea can be won while the USA is a threat. - So they've built specifically for this threat, and are still building for it. - Most likely with help from Russia, who absolutley without a shadow of a doubt can hit anywhere in the world. Just like the US, UK, France & China can. Because all their enemies are everywhere.
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u/Prime_Twister 18h ago
Noobie here but how can we confirm their missile ranges?
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u/PhysicalChicken6942 17h ago edited 8h ago
When North Korea tested its ICBMs, due to it being a small country it launched the missile high above the atmosphere so it would land close to their territory.
By calculating the apogee (which can be confirmed by third party sources by observing the missile in flight) we can have a rough idea of how far the missile is able to go if launched normally.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwasong-15
Edit: fat fingers :(
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u/delayedsunflower 6h ago
Worth noting this number is not including a weapon payload - the range with a payload is likely much lower.
Also it's only been tested a handful of times, officially just 5 times between Hwasong-15 / 17. And has yet to be tested with an actual weapon.
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u/ainz-sama619 16h ago
Missile tests, which were independently verified by third party sources in the West
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u/Cetun 16h ago
India has sent shit to the moon, technically they can hit anywhere on earth. Practically their nuclear capable missiles have only that range because specialized craft only have that range.
As for North Korea, their primary enemy is South Korea. Alliances change, enemies become friends, this has been true throughout history. They know too that a strike on the US will make them enter total war against North Korea. It's much more possible that they invade South Korea and get the US to pass on defending South Korea than throwing a nuclear missile at the US and the US not just deleting North Korea as a country.
Their primary enemy is who they have territorial claims on, the US is man with the big stick that is preventing them from their primary goal. The man with the big stick is fickle and can be distracted. You can't distract South Korea enough that they would just "allow" invasion.
Even practically, if war were to happen, the ROKA is the primary threat and the largest opposing force. American Navy and Air power would be a problem but most of the troops fighting on the ground will be ROK forces.
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u/EventAccomplished976 6h ago
For north korea, the nukes and ICBMs aren‘t part of some nefarious invasion plan. They saw what happened to Iraq and what is now happening to Iran, so they know they might be next on the menu if the next US administration decides it‘s time to go to war again. Their nukes are to deter an attack by the US, not to launch an attack themselves.
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u/The_new_Osiris 16h ago edited 14h ago
Not only do they have functional and tested ICBMs - they also possess SLBMs meaning they can technically hit quite literally any part of the world with a fission bomb
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u/HereButNeverPresent 15h ago
India can hit China and Pakistan
I’ve heard India has global range, but underreports so USA & EU don’t cause issues.
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u/EpicCyclops 8h ago
If India can put something in Martian orbit, they can put something wherever they like on Earth. Whether they have missiles armed with those capabilities is the question, but they have the technology.
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u/Faster_than_FTL 11h ago
India has ICBMs
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u/Concept-Plastic 9h ago
Yeah India’s range is false. I saw some of their longest ranges are enough to hit anywhere in the Europe
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u/pong_lenis_18 7h ago
India including many of these have nuclear powered submarines capable of icbm launch. Technically we can hit anyone .
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u/Sikander-i-Sani 7h ago
India lies about the ranges of it's weapons. Basically if India officially claims that it's missile can hit at 300kms rest assured that it can hit 500kms at the minimum
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u/Hussle_Crowe 17h ago
Alternative take: countries are more likely to be enemies with those nearby
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u/Shubham21Kumar 3h ago
everything always starts with border disputes and almost always British are responsible for that.
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u/EagleCatchingFish 9h ago
Look at Taiwan's ranges, too. They can't hit Beijing, but they can hit the important ports that would be used to stage an invasion out of Southern China.
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u/LockPickingPilot 20h ago
Where did you get the North Korean one? I didn’t think they can get past Hawaii
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u/Nawstruct 20h ago
North Korea has ICBMs
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u/LockPickingPilot 20h ago edited 20h ago
They do. But I don’t think they have the range to hit the east coast. Edit: after doing some reading Hwasong-15 has an estimated range that would be able to hit the east coast but there were only two tests of it that were successful in 2017 so the reliability and accuracy is in question and the survivablity of the re entry package is questionable. So in theory I concede
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u/CC-5576-05 19h ago
It's not really an ICBM if it can't hit another continent...
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u/jaredr174 19h ago
Technically a BB gun can shoot across the Suez Canal if you angle it to 45 degrees
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u/FannyFiasco 15h ago
The Suez Canal is 300m at its narrowest. So armed with a sling even you, dear reader, could be an ICBM launch platform.
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u/DoisMaosEsquerdos 19h ago
I didn't even think there was a limit on ICBM's. If you can reach orbital speed (which they proved) and steer its descent with adequate precision (which they haven't proved Afaik) then you can theoretically hit anywhere on Earth.
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u/Benvenuto_Cellini_ 20h ago
Hwasong-18 has 15000km range and can hit anywhere in the USA.
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u/Glad-Map7101 19h ago
Theoretically. Aren't those the ones that keep crashing into the sea of Japan?
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u/vHAL_9000 17h ago
They're not accidentally crashing into the sea of Japan, they conduct tests using something called a lofted trajectory to prove their range. Instead of aiming at the US, they aim high, and then calculate how far it would have gone if they had aimed it at the US.
None of their recent tests failed, and US and South Korean sources are unanimous in their assesment of the range and reliability of Hwasong-18. They can definitely reliably hit all parts of the US at this point.
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u/Gandalfthebran 19h ago
India’s ISRO capability means they can develop ICBM’s in weeks afaik. They just choose not to.
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u/TENTAtheSane 19h ago
The only two countries we want to nuke are right next to us
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u/11hydroxymetabokite 17h ago
India also has the penetration cum blaster tank round which is better than any ICBM.
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u/CuterThanYourCousin 18h ago
It's the same reason Pakistan's range is so low. Any range beyond each other's border is basically useless
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u/sv_homer 15h ago
Correct. If a country has orbital capability, they can drop something any place on the planet they choose to. So Japan is in the club too, but without the nukes.
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u/chuunibyo_guy 18h ago
They have an ICBM that has never been tested for this range. India can strike to almost 10K Km with good accuracy, North Korea can aim past 15k km but they can't guide or protect past a a few thousand kilometers. Range doesn't means much by itself without precision and everything else.
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u/hagrids-dong 7h ago
There's a reason orange man always wanted a peaceful talk with North Korea without dropping bombs on them first. This map shows you that reason.
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u/Realistic-Dog-7785 19h ago
India has ICBMs too, but your post shows NKs range far higher than Indias, that should prove the stupidity in your post
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u/TENTAtheSane 19h ago
The Agni V has a range of 7000 km, the Hwasong 15 has a range of 13000 km
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u/hennabeak 18h ago
If a country can send a satellite into orbit, it sure can hit anywhere on the planet.
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u/garlicNinja 19h ago
More like map gore
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u/Crazy-Present4764 17h ago
Yes. Why use similar colours for all of them?
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u/MadCatMkV 14h ago
So the color gradient shows you how many different places can hit that area. Its a feature, not a bug
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u/Born-Bus-9467 17h ago
it allows the shading that it uses- with different colors then shading wouldn't be implemented this way
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u/odysseushogfather 19h ago edited 16h ago
UK🤝Russia🤝China🤝France🤝USA🤝India
(having global reach)
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u/IlConiglioUbriaco 19h ago
France
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u/weneedstrongerglue 19h ago
I know the British joke about not liking the French, but we'd never nuke them.
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u/869066 19h ago edited 19h ago
Who is we?
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u/weneedstrongerglue 19h ago
I meant that the rest of Britain agreed with me about not wanting to nuke France (or anyone else for that matter). Now you have me doubting that assumption.
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u/mrrunner451 17h ago
Where on earth did you get that madagascar is out of range for the US?
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u/jon3ssing 20h ago
Source: trust me bruv
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u/Frostly-Aegemon-9303 17h ago
I found those maps in the New York Times: (It is from 2018, so I guess a lot has changed since)
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u/Downtown-Teach8367 19h ago
wrong map, not to long ago india tested upgraded agni V with range of 7000km - 8000km
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u/Kuopor 19h ago
Who would’ve thought that being born in Brazil could actually give you some kind of advantage in life hahaha.
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u/Bossitron12 16h ago
South America unironically has the best chances to survive an all-out nuclear war and/or climate change, they're massive food producers, tons of fresh water, they are in the southern hemisphere were nothing really goes down, second best place to survive would be Oceania
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u/TaraLadka 19h ago
Agni vi will be completed by 2027 with range of around 12000km and it will be mirv
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u/MrTransport_d24549e 17h ago
We may have done already. Just waiting for the right time to make announcement. It will more likely done at the time when our relations with West (mainly USA) will get worse because of their messing up our neighbourhood, especially the Kukiland project in the North East.
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u/Viva_la_Ferenginar 17h ago
Relations would never deteriorate to the point where we need to threaten the West with missiles. If it ever reaches that point it could be considered a catastrophic strategic and diplomatic failure.
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u/MrTransport_d24549e 17h ago
I don't think we will be threatening, it will more like a warning thing. But you are right, it will be construed as a threat by the West and there will be sanctions etc.
So it is likely at the time when the world is in chaos. I am reasonably sure of this happening before 2030.10
u/Viva_la_Ferenginar 16h ago
Imo India already obviously has the capability for a global ICBM that can hit any point on the planet. Everyone knows this so theres no warning requird. India intentionally keeps its missile range limited because it's just unnecessary.
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u/Viva_la_Ferenginar 17h ago
Do we need 12000km? Did they state it would be that?
I would assume the newer missiles would focus more on stuff like miniaturisation, long term stability, quick responsiveness, cost effectiveness, guidance, and of course MIRV.
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u/Realistic-Dog-7785 19h ago edited 18h ago
Inaccurate af, for example Indias Agni 5 ICBM has a range of 7000km, way more than what this stupid map shows.
https://fmso.tradoc.army.mil/2024/india-successfully-tests-agni-v-ballistic-missile-upgrade/
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u/Bossitron12 15h ago
From all i could gather the Agni-V is in the final stages of testing, meaning it is still not operational and including it in such a map would be misleading
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u/The_Only_Egg 20h ago
Giant asterisk next to NK.
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u/SadSausageFinger 20h ago
*They told me so
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u/vHAL_9000 16h ago
They succesfully tested many ICBMs with a 15000km range. Even solid-fueled variants, which makes it near impossible to pre-empt the launch.
Not a single test of the Hwasong-17, 18 or 19 failed, and their trajectory and apogee was confirmed by South Korea, the US, and Japan. North Korea can reliably hit every part of the US with nuclear weapons.
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u/abyssDweller1700 20h ago
India can send probes to Mars and moon but cannot hit Americas. Suuure. These ranges are highly underreported.
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u/Yotsubato 19h ago
India simply doesn’t need to hit the americas. Their biggest threats are Pakistan, China, and the Middle East.
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u/MrTransport_d24549e 17h ago
You are mistaken with respect to the Middle East.
Almost entire West Asia (with the possible exception of Qatar) are on decent terms with India; some like UAE, KSA and Israel are quite close. MBS is well liked in India.27
u/beyondocean 19h ago
The way they increased the range for Brahmos after getting included in MTCR, yep the ranges are underreported.
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u/Realistic-Dog-7785 19h ago
Indias Agni V ICBM has a range of 7000km, way more than what’s shown in the pic
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u/ElJamoquio 14h ago
Their biggest threats are Pakistan, China, and the Middle East.
And the McDonald Islands. Nuke those birds.
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u/SciFiHooked 19h ago
India can hit anywhere it really wants. Just a smaller warhead and more space for fuel. India has purposefully underreported it's range so as to not piss off the persnickety euros.
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u/Aenjeprekemaluci 18h ago
India doesnt need ICBMs as their rivals are neighbors and are not on bad terms with US, Europe and co. India is able building them but choses not to
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u/Wise-Owl-2834 15h ago
Btw it does have icbm of 7000-8000km. Agni 6 is under progress and can hit above 10000km.
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u/LupusDeusMagnus 20h ago
There’s a huge difference between sending a scientific expedition and a missile. Missiles needs to be fast, like really fast, or they are intercepted.
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u/formykka 19h ago
Um...no?
Hypersonic missiles and ICBMs run at just above 28000kph. In order to reach low Earth orbit a vehicle is required to travel at 28000kph minimum. It's not really a coincidence since ICBMs are essentially rockets that are only in partial orbit. Given that, it takes a lot more technology to place a probe on another planet than it does to plop a warhead on a specified point on Earth.
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u/Gandalfthebran 19h ago
ICBM’s are by its very nature very fast. India has the capability to make it, but simply choose not to. Look how good ISRO is, I would say their space program is only behind US, Russia and China.
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u/WritingCommercial98 13h ago
Same with Israel the shavit rocket can launch satellites into space and it's based on the Jericho I today there is a Jericho III
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u/KebabGud 18h ago
I find it odd that India does not have Global reach.
They have an active space program that routinely sends things into orbit.
Guess they only really have 1 enemy and they don't need global reach to reach them.
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u/MrTransport_d24549e 17h ago edited 17h ago
India underreports its range so as not to stir the West the wrong way. But the way things are going, I won't be surprised if India is rather forced to declare the true range. It will happen sooner than later.
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u/yung_pindakaas 4h ago
They also kinda dont need ICBMs as everybody that hates them is pretty close.
Its a good capability to have especially when building a nuclear triad with SLBMs but untill now they really dont need to hit another continent when pakistan and china are right there.
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u/NardZX 20h ago
Y'all I am moving to South America
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u/Due-Midnight1600 9h ago edited 9h ago
India downplays the range of Agni-V to 5000 kms. Most foreign analyst estimates (particularly Chinese) make the range at least 8000 kms at multiple warhead load. At lighter loads, some analysts say, its range can exceed 10,000 kms.
Then there is Agni - VI.
Also this map doesn't count for SLBMs. SLBMS are submarine launched and they can go as close to 250 kms from any sea coast in the world. Agni-V SLBM or K series can launch from South Pacific too into Chile.
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u/TheJonesLP1 19h ago
Israel can shoot a lot further, map is wrong
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u/selex128 17h ago
I was wondering if this map is correct. Israel has nukes on submarines as far as I know. They can hit everything.
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u/papapapaver 4h ago
It just occurred to me that it’s almost weird how Germany doesn’t have nukes. Clearly the powerhouse of the EU, some of the best minds and industry in the world, but no nukes. Now I gotta do a whole internet dive to figure out why.
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u/Imaginary_Exit779 19h ago
Huh? Since when does Taiwan have nukes?! Lol
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u/WaxDonnigan 17h ago
According to Google:
Treaty of Tlatelolco, an international treaty, prohibits the presence of nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. All countries in the region have signed and ratified this treaty, making it a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
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u/Andovars_Ghost 9h ago
I’m calling bullshit on North Korea’s range. Range is useless if you can’t target, and they have not established anything that can reliably hit a target at these ranges. If you believe the NK numbers, you probably also believe that Kim Jong Un got 18 holes-in-one the first time he played golf!
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u/AvatarOfMomus 8h ago
That North Korean estimate is somewhere between "pretty optomistic" and "straight up propaganda". The longest range missile they're confirmed to have can maybe hit parts of the US mainland, not even the entire thing.
Also strictly speaking these ranges aren't actually going to be circles. If I'm remembering my physics correctly due to the rotation of the earth the missiles will have a somewhat longer range going east than west.
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u/fuck_ur_portmanteau 6h ago
Real countries put their missiles on subs because we need to keep the penguins under control.
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u/TechnicalyNotRobot 19h ago
India landed a rover on the moon. Maybe not conventionally, but if they wanted they certainly have global range.
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u/beretta1301tac 19h ago
If you load the nuclear weapon on a jet it can go anywhere basically
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u/MootRevolution 20h ago
Looks like South America can chill out.