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A drone with the same range as a missile would be indistinguishable from a missile. A drone without the same range as a missile would likely have its carrier de
by magicsmoke 5y ago
A drone with the same range as a missile would be indistinguishable from a missile. A drone without the same range as a missile would likely have its carrier detected and destroyed before it can get in range to release it's drones. Drones are great for irregular forces that can hide among civilian populations or in dense terrain to have short ranged air strike capabilities cheaply, but they are not substitute for long range naval strikes.
- justaguy88 5y agoThe drone swarm can have a carrier vehicle, like a (perhaps autonomous) big plane or sub to get it within range
- ericd 5y agoOr perhaps a missile full of drones, similar to those bombs with lots of guided submunitions.
- MikeDelta 5y agoIndeed, cheap and available in massive amounts also makes very dangerous. Funny that we see this in various computer games, ships with drone bays. What you mention would be a drone missile perhaps?
- aerostable_slug 5y agoTomahawk TLAM/D carries 166 submunitions in 24 canisters. There's no reason those submunitions need to be dumb — or stationary for that matter.
- racnid 5y agoI can't seem to find any reference for what actual submunitions a Tomahawk carries but conventional cluster munitions can already be smart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBU-97_Sensor_Fuzed_Weapon
- magicsmoke 5y agoAnd I suppose the carrier vehicle is somehow invulnerable to missiles? In fact, why wouldn't it just carry missiles in the first place?
- cma 5y agoA missile blows up in all directions, whereas a small drone can focus fire and concentrate energy on individuals. A swarm of tiny drones in a concentrated population area can potentially end up with a similar kill to mass ratio as early nuclear bombs. It is similar to the difference between a large conventional bomb and a cluster bomb but taken to another level.
- imtringued 5y agoOr just a UGV following infantry. https://youtu.be/hXNJhB41L-M https://youtu.be/hXNJhB41L-M https://youtu.be/H_O85m6VXn8 https://youtu.be/H_O85m6VXn8
- jollybean 5y agoDrones are distinguishable by the fact they are lumbering, slow targets. Most of these Turkish style drones will be null in any real fight because there is (or will be soon) tech to instantly neutralize them. The 'smaller' drones in civilian areas - yes - that's a different story, but thankfully they have more limited range.