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It's like Israel's "Iron Dome" interceptors. $50,000 each to take out what amounts to a $50 Estes model rocket.
by nsxwolf 4y ago
It's like Israel's "Iron Dome" interceptors. $50,000 each to take out what amounts to a $50 Estes model rocket.
- TheGuyWhoCodes 4y agoI don't think it's a fair comparison because a rocket hit could be much more expensive in direct and collateral damage than 50k
- LarryMullins 4y agoYeah, a $50k missile to save even a single unoccupied house is a missile that paid for itself. And if it saves a few human lives then it was positively cheap. If bankrupting Israel by forcing them to expend Iron Dome interceptors is Hezbollah's plan, it obviously isn't working.
- jxramos 4y agoI wonder how much is going into location technology much like ShotSpotter but for rockets and mortar and all that sort of thing. They may already know the origins of fire but maybe can't fire back at that precise location or something?
- LarryMullins 4y agoCounter-battery radar that can track artillery shells or ballistic rockets back to their point of origin have been around for many years now; the Israelis surely know exactly where the rockets are being fired from. I think they (usually) avoid firing back because they know there would be civilian casualties and want to avoid some of that bad PR. One such system operated by Israel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EL/M-2084 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EL/M-2084
- nsxwolf 4y agoTrue. But they're unguided, almost none of them will cause real damage, but you have no choice but to take all of them out to prevent the losses from a lucky shot - at great expense. It's a great way to drain your enemies funds, great asymmetric warfare. Casualties are just icing on the cake.
- unsupp0rted 4y agoIt's also a great way to test and hone one's missile shield with live unscheduled "drills" that may not be drills. Makes it a lot easier to get funding when requested too.
- giantrobot 4y agoPart of Iron Dome is trajectory analysis. If the profile of a target matches that of an unguided rocket and the CEP is in some unoccupied area, no interceptors are fired. If it looks like it'll land in a populated area, interceptors are fired. It doesn't just shoot everything in the sky.
- wbl 4y agoIron Dome is selective and only fires when the trajectory will go to a built up area.
- PM_me_your_math 4y agoThat analog for a $50 Estes rocket can blow a family apart into little pieces. The discipline is sound - protect your citizens from external threats, no matter the cost. That's the purpose of government and by extension, its military.
- nsxwolf 4y agoI would most definitely sleep better at night with a system like that watching the skies.