3 ms·

Not to knock on hobbyists doing cool projects, but to me "missile" means "at least supersonic if not hypersonic". I guess the article is light on details there

Not to knock on hobbyists doing cool projects, but to me "missile" means "at least supersonic if not hypersonic". I guess the article is light on details there, but I get the impression that this is intended to be a way to send a very fast (and so hard to shoot down) missile at a target with the ability to fire multiple smaller missiles or simply to fire bullets at enemy aircraft from a vastly closer range where it's onboard sensor suite will be far more effective against enemy aircraft countermeasures. Or simply to provide much more active countermeasures against AA sites shooting the missile down. Something incredibly fast that uses a computer to rapidly analyze and respond to sensor data to respond with a variety of lethal options sounds terrifying and I don't especially want it to exist. But I can see the appeal of having a new missile that stands a much better chance of striking a target to make actual global adversaries think thrice. The new cold war... yet we still have citizens without food security or health care... priorities I guess.

starpilot 7y ago
Missile usually just means guided. The tomahawk cruise missile is subsonic, among others.
- jacquesm 7y ago
  Missile usually just means something shot at something else. It doesn't need its own propulsion and it does not need its own guidance system. A stone from a slingshot counts as a missile by the normal definition.
  - starpilot 7y ago
    I'm aware of the etymology. Mitto, mittere. In modern ordnance context, missile = guided, rocket = unguided. Even though both use rocket motors (and here they usually say motor rather than engine).
    - globuous 7y ago
      Balistic missiles aren't really guided. They're closer to the slingshot approach.
      - Aenyn 7y ago
        But they are guided though, how else would the different warheads be able to have different targets when they are all launched in the same missile.
- neltnerb 7y ago
  And is what distinguishes it from a drone the type of flight? i.e. rocket plus some fins vs wings?
  - taneq 7y ago
    A missile is something that flies through the air with the intention of hitting and damaging a target. The exact mechanism of propulsion is orthogonal to the purpose. A stone from a sling is a missile, as is a pulse-jet-powered drone packed with explosives, as is a quadcopter with a kilo of C4 strapped to it.

starpilot 7y ago

Missile usually just means guided. The tomahawk cruise missile is subsonic, among others.

jacquesm 7y ago
Missile usually just means something shot at something else. It doesn't need its own propulsion and it does not need its own guidance system. A stone from a slingshot counts as a missile by the normal definition.
- starpilot 7y ago
  I'm aware of the etymology. Mitto, mittere. In modern ordnance context, missile = guided, rocket = unguided. Even though both use rocket motors (and here they usually say motor rather than engine).
  - globuous 7y ago
    Balistic missiles aren't really guided. They're closer to the slingshot approach.
    - Aenyn 7y ago
      But they are guided though, how else would the different warheads be able to have different targets when they are all launched in the same missile.
neltnerb 7y ago
And is what distinguishes it from a drone the type of flight? i.e. rocket plus some fins vs wings?
- taneq 7y ago
  A missile is something that flies through the air with the intention of hitting and damaging a target. The exact mechanism of propulsion is orthogonal to the purpose. A stone from a sling is a missile, as is a pulse-jet-powered drone packed with explosives, as is a quadcopter with a kilo of C4 strapped to it.