Joe, you asked what does the fleet do next ?

Well how is this theory for starters;
They just sit there and when the ROK fires a missle out over the sea
they just shoot it down.
Oh look, the madman Kim fired a missile at our fleet in international waters !
So we shot it down.

BTW one theory going the rounds is that the missile that failed was
zapped with enough signal that its computer thought it was lost and aborted.
Alternatively the US has monited enough data to work out was is the abort command.
Now that could be considered fun not war !

Even an attempt to launch a threatening weapon is enough for retaliation I would say, and at a time of their choosing.

Things have to come to a head it may as well be now. If North Korea target Savilions in steed of military targets. Giv it to them that will break their back.

Hi Bazz,

You mean PDRK, not ROK ?

Well, a lot can go wrong with that: unless they get up above the 38th Parallel, I don't think the PDRK would send them a missile, and if they did, it may be quite understandable, even in international law: if, say, the Russians sent a fleet down the East Coast of Australia, we might regard that as an unfriendly act.

And what if the fleet's air defences miss ? Or worse, the DPRK DON'T fire off a missile ?

This is my point: that the fleet has to stop some time, and then just sit there, ducks in a pond.

So where's the 'strategy' in all that ? It's a bit like a dog chasing a bus, a lot of bluff, until someone presses a button. But what if the PDRK just sits tight and does nothing ? The Yanks will have to go back home, unless they get a bit too close, or do something stupid.

Joe

Ahhh, yes Joe of course DPROK, well if they do just sit there and the
DPROK do not fire a missile, well that's good, they do not get to test
their hardware and their program is delayed. That is a gain.

They have previously fired their rockets towards Japan and they
fall in the sea of Japan.
The US probably hope that they do a test so they can shoot it down and
get a look at their hardware, if possible.
Perhaps that is what it is all about.
Also if they are there they will be able to get accurate radar images
of each class of missile. Although possibly they have done that already.
There could be much useful info that could be collected up close.
In test mode there would be lots of telemetry available.