3 ms·

Can’t the drones fire missiles?

• cwillu 3y ago
  Not really, the sort of missile with range and speed relevant to this conflict is itself larger than the drones that would be firing them. There are orders of magnitude difference in size and capability for things called “drones”, and likewise for “missiles”.
  • chatmasta 3y ago
    So what do the drones do, kamikaze basically? They’ve got a warhead attached to their belly and just fly into a target?
    • cwillu 3y ago
      Exactly, yeah. It's a sore spot for me that we don't call them cruise missiles, even though I understand the argument (in principle they can be called back and recovered, and will have a loitering capability that is sometimes useful).
    • cwillu 3y ago
      Not completely up to date, but: https://www.navalgazing.net/The-Drone-Revolution https://www.navalgazing.net/The-Drone-Revolution “OK, but are we sure that we couldn’t just substitute a huge quantity of cheap systems for the expensive ones? Quantity has a quality all its own, and if we throw enough drones at a carrier, it’s going to die. Again, no. In theory, you could overwhelm a carrier by throwing drones at it, but for cases where the “drones” aren’t just cruise missiles, this is like attempting to break down a door by throwing mashed potatoes at it.”