From the target's perspective, yes, it is quite a vertical descent. We are not talking about a few hundred meters travel span. We are talking about several THOUSANDS of km with a suborbital parabolic arc, sometimes assisted by the Earth's rotation.
You're still going to argue that vertical doesn't mean vertical?!
Let me refresh your memory.
1. You said warheads fall vertically onto their targets.
2. I said "no." Warheads have horizontal and vertical velocity. They can fall onto their targets at an angle.
3. You called me a know-nothing fanboy.
4. I posted the Peacekeeper MIRV picture to prove my point.
5. You said it was an optical illusion.
6. I posted the vertical rocket marker contrails for a nuclear test to prove my point again (e.g. vertical contrails actually look vertical; the angled Peacekeeper trajectories are truly angled).
7. You claimed I was still wrong.
8. I told everyone to place 8 pens vertically on their desks and look at it from all angles. I said it was impossible to replicate the angles in the Peacekeeper MIRV picture.
9. You still said I was wrong.
10. I posted a RAND study showing angular incoming trajectories for missiles and warheads. I posted a second source that showed the same thing.
11. You disappeared from the thread without apologizing to me or admitting you were wrong.
Does the sequence of events ring a bell? Or are you going to continue with your big lie?