With a minor tweak, F-35s could shoot down North Korean missiles — but there's a catch

"You'd have to be impractically close to their launch area," Bronk said. The problem then comes down to the missile itself. "Given that an AIM-120 burns for seven to nine seconds and then coasts, and a ballistic missile does the opposite, all while climbing," Bronk explained, the F-35 would have to engage the missile from very close.