Could Washington DC Be Defended From A Huge Chinese Ballistic Missile Strike? (WarGames 250) | DCS

Today we ask whether a US layered missile IADS including THAAD, Patriot, NASAMS, Avenger and Stinger could defend against 48 x ballistic missiles fired from 4 x Chinese Type 094 SSBN submarines.

0:00 Overview
0:47 Research
1:57 Scenario Details
5:11 1 x SSBN vs MANPAD, Avenger & NASAMS 2
7:59 1 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3
9:56 1 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3, Patriot
11:57 2 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3, Patriot
13:13 3 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3, Patriot
14:54 3 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3, Patriot & THAAD
17:57 4 x SSBN vs NASAMS 3, Patriot & THAAD

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[tuskegee]

1:07 Cap you don't ever have to apologize to us for having health issues. We're just blessed you continue to provide us with entertainment, science, and that glorious BOOM BOOM!

[swords]

The reason DC seems lightly defended is because Norfolk naval base and the various airforce bases nearby cover the area.

[ChrisCebelenski]

I think you can stop apologizing for your voice, Cap. You sound fine! If anyone really makes a deal about it, you have my permission to send an F35 to visit them! (New concept for a wargame? Naaahhh) Seriously, you do fine and should keep going as long as you're able!

[MakeItUpAsIGo]

I work in DC and live in Bmore. Theres more hidden missile silos in DC hiding in plain sight than people think..you might even walk over some near the National Mall w/o ever knowing

[Zachattack-otun]

I just drove past naval support activity Bethesda today and saw a patriot launcher so dc definitely has more than just this. Also the us naval surface warfare center has a nasams battery, I see it whenever I drive by it

[MGRulien]

The reason is because the shit we have surrounding DC it's unlikely anything gets past any coastal navy cities from the east, definitely not from the west with 3000 miles of land

[Zenoviax_DFSOU]

Simple answer as to why the Whitehouse itself is so low defended is what everyone else is saying, and thats the various bases in the 100 miles, but also the funny amount of ships docked in the path, a fair amount of which i believe are armed and prepped for defense missions

[JBW]

NSA licking their lips watching this one

[herrzimm]

You would probably find MOST of the Washington DC "THADD" system located around Norfolk Virginia and Andrews Military base, as well as possibly Bethesda. Not to mention possibly "something" in the THADD network at the Pentagon, Naval Academy and FBI/CIA headquarters. Also keep in mind that you would have available aircraft all along the East Coast to work with as well.

Provided you had enough warning (not a single sub) for an attack, you could get resources as far south as S.Carolina and north as Maine to provide additional aircraft or naval ships to use as well. And if memory serves, the US Navy keeps a CONSTANT patrol off the coast of Virginia/Maryland/NY coast line to PREVENT possible sub attacks.

[brightfrost]

Wow nice timing. I heard something just like that happened somewhere in the Middle East, and completely went through the air defense.

[PhoenixT]

Just because you can’t find it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. In fact, that means it’s _probably_ there and they specifically aren’t flaunting it.

[roust]

2:14 I'd be surprised if there weren't hidden assets that are very classified. Probably other counter measures, too, even though the threat to the mainland is minimal

[ASHSRV]

I love these videos, the amount of research that goes into these is very much appreciated.

[Saerkal]

Hi Grim--DC Resident here. 

Couple things you might find neat:

There's generally a P-8 going around over the lower Chesapeake Bay + an E2 doing loops somewhere near the top of NC. This is from ADS-B. Anecdotally, I've also seen some fighter patrols w/ tanker up near the Baltimore coastline.


I've also heard rumors of SAMs being hidden. (Not the ones you can see on the river approach or on google earth btw)

You also didn't capture the midnight Blackhawk flights going right over where I live and waking me up lol.

[jamesm]

Hope you're keeping well and resting up Cap, no need to apologise! You sound fantastic and I always look forward to your videos :)

[Mark-xvlb]

have it on good authority that the Washington Monument is a leftover Titan II reconfigured as an anti-ballistic missile submarine interceptor

[CLGL-yvkh]

The US never invested very heavily into its land-based air defense compared to countries like Russia. The military chose to focus on aircraft instead. The NASAMS battery at Ft. Belvoir has a total of 1 (yes, one) launcher. There's also Joint Base Andrews just east of DC that hosts F-16s, which can intercept cruise missiles but not ballistic ones.

[Jack.A.S]

Washington is so lightly defended because their navy would never let any serious threat approach the coast without an overwhelming defence from air, land and sea and likely offence, say not far from Beijing, being moved in place beforehand.

[DJRossouw-cc]

One thing you forgot Cap. Norfolk Naval yard is just to the North-west of where the Chinese launched. That is on of the “known” defence lines for the Whitehouse. And let’s be frank, all the defensive systems for the Whitehouse, Capitol Building and the rest wouldn’t be available for public access/knowledge.

[jamison]

Thanks for the video Cap. And no need to apologize for your voice; you have a better presenting voice on a bad day than I do even on my best day.

Lack of BM defenses surrounding DC is due to focus on prevention: the US invests billions in knowing what's going on around the globe. Any ballistic missiles fired toward the US may potentially be intercepted by the available ballistic missile defense systems, such as Aegis on ships deployed at any number of locations worldwide (and hopefully close enough to the trajectory to assist), there's a few Aegis ashore sites that would be avoided by the enemy, and then Patriot, THAAD and GMBD batteries deployed strategically. I believe they rely on a scattering of systems rather than the isolated deployment of systems, just due to the nature of ICBMs potentially coming from any direction.

They should be able to detect launches in nearly real-time and then assess the options for targeting incoming missiles via all assets deployed. On the submarine threat side, I don't know for certain, but I imagine the US coasts are well-covered with a significant "net" of sonar sensors; in addition to USN sub patrols and the intelligence investment (signals/human). They had a whole lot of practice during the cold war, that's for sure.

For general local defense, there are plenty of fighter squadrons, the very local anti-missile defenses around DC (the NASAMS as you pointed out). DC also has it's own local US Army base with quick-reaction units for capitol defense.

Although I have no sources, I would not be surprised if there were a few Patriot batteries on standby within the DC region as an emergency backup. Given what's at stake, it would be pretty dumb not to have some sort of emergency defense using such an effective system, but the US also has no reason to divulge that info. Failing all of the above, there should theoretically always be enough time per the missile launch warning, for POTUS to get down to the bunker hah.