4 ms·

I wonder what minimum size of steel billet can be dropped from space and punch a hole in a fishing vessel's hull?

kayodelycaon 5y ago
You really don't need that. A few patrol boats, planes, or helicopters with one or more heavy machine guns would be plenty of deterrent. A few hundred bullets would be enough to smash the bridge of a small ship. On the cheap, you could have a small fleet of turboprop recon planes, each armed with a pair of machine guns. They aren't all that expensive to operate, use widely available ammunition and fuel and often don't require much more than a smooth stretch of dirt for takeoff. If that still isn't enough, shop around for small warships or gun boats. Or mount a gun pod on your planes. A rapid-firing 20mm cannon can do a significant amount of damage since they can use explosive shells. Even the largest US Coast Guard cutter is smaller than a WWII destroyer and outgunned by any warship larger than an inflatable raft. Edit: Heck. If you want an even cheaper solution, board ships with people carrying knives and guns like the 1700s. Modern pirates already do this.
- handrous 5y ago
  > If that still isn't enough, shop around for small warships or gun boats. Or mount a gun pod on your planes. A rapid-firing 20mm cannon can do a significant amount of damage since they can use explosive shells. Yeah, you can pretty effectively and safely (to you) threaten un- or lightly-armed ships with a 1930s-vintage biplane. Don't need fancy or expensive equipment to do that, if you're willing to go so far as actually firing on violating vessels. A handful of cheap used Cessnas with light "dumb" bombs attached would probably be damn effective at getting fishing vessels to go away and not come back for a while, even—again, if you're willing to actually attack. It's got to be restraint, not cost, preventing damaging or sinking the violating vessels, even for fairly small nations.
magicsmoke 5y ago
The cost to launch that weight into space and make sure it hits its intended target on landing would make it prohibitively expensive.

You really don't need that. A few patrol boats, planes, or helicopters with one or more heavy machine guns would be plenty of deterrent. A few hundred bullets would be enough to smash the bridge of a small ship. On the cheap, you could have a small fleet of turboprop recon planes, each armed with a pair of machine guns. They aren't all that expensive to operate, use widely available ammunition and fuel and often don't require much more than a smooth stretch of dirt for takeoff. If that still isn't enough, shop around for small warships or gun boats. Or mount a gun pod on your planes. A rapid-firing 20mm cannon can do a significant amount of damage since they can use explosive shells. Even the largest US Coast Guard cutter is smaller than a WWII destroyer and outgunned by any warship larger than an inflatable raft. Edit: Heck. If you want an even cheaper solution, board ships with people carrying knives and guns like the 1700s. Modern pirates already do this.

handrous 5y ago
> If that still isn't enough, shop around for small warships or gun boats. Or mount a gun pod on your planes. A rapid-firing 20mm cannon can do a significant amount of damage since they can use explosive shells. Yeah, you can pretty effectively and safely (to you) threaten un- or lightly-armed ships with a 1930s-vintage biplane. Don't need fancy or expensive equipment to do that, if you're willing to go so far as actually firing on violating vessels. A handful of cheap used Cessnas with light "dumb" bombs attached would probably be damn effective at getting fishing vessels to go away and not come back for a while, even—again, if you're willing to actually attack. It's got to be restraint, not cost, preventing damaging or sinking the violating vessels, even for fairly small nations.

magicsmoke 5y ago

The cost to launch that weight into space and make sure it hits its intended target on landing would make it prohibitively expensive.