5 ms·

Not sure about that last para in the age of explosive drones.

JoeyBananas 2y ago
What's your point? There are people who engage in private drone ownership more or less for the same reasons commonly put forth for private gun ownership.
- brokenmachine 2y ago
  No there aren't. They would also need grenades and RPG warheads, which aren't readily available.
- 48864w6ui 2y ago
  If explosive drones became legal for militae less well regulated than the National Guard I'd expect school "shootings" could be exciting indeed.
marssaxman 2y ago
I can only guess which sort of drones you have in mind, but from my view, the routine use of cheap, hobbyist-level FPV racing drones to disable tanks in the Ukraine/Russia war rather supports the idea presented in that paragraph.
- riku_iki 2y ago
  Kinda doubtful "hobbyist-level FPV racing drones" can reliably disable tanks..
  - marssaxman 2y ago
    "In an interview with Foreign Policy, a NATO official said that Ukrainian first-person-view drones, known commonly as FPV drones, were responsible for two-thirds of recent Russian tank losses." https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-losses-reflects-shortages-artillery-report-2024-4?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...
    - riku_iki 2y ago
      The premise of the article is that Ukraine is not being able to disable tanks using conventional ways anymore because of lack of artillery shells. Also, "NATO official" tells nothing about quality of this report, it could be some clerks opinion.
      - marssaxman 2y ago
        I did read the article, yes, and I'm not sure what your point is. The existence of better weapons, which the Ukrainians cannot afford, changes nothing about the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago. Doubt the unnamed NATO official all you like, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how the Ukrainian army uses drones against tanks; it is completely routine.
        riku_iki 2y ago
        > the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
        marssaxman 2y ago
        If you are determined to remain skeptical of something which is being done every day, with a great deal of news coverage and abundant video documentation freely available to anyone who spends five minutes looking for it, there is nothing I can say that will help you. Have a nice day!
        riku_iki 2y ago
        I challenge your statements about happening every day and great deal of video documentation.
  - brokenmachine 2y ago
    You also need RPG warheads and cable ties, which kinda makes the drones not really hobbyist level anymore.
    - riku_iki 2y ago
      I am more concerned that rpg weight and range add more requirements beyond "racing drone".
      - brokenmachine 2y ago
        There's also many videos of the Ukrainian drone factories with 3D printers making parts for them. I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up. They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize. I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there. A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.

What's your point? There are people who engage in private drone ownership more or less for the same reasons commonly put forth for private gun ownership.

brokenmachine 2y ago
No there aren't. They would also need grenades and RPG warheads, which aren't readily available.
48864w6ui 2y ago
If explosive drones became legal for militae less well regulated than the National Guard I'd expect school "shootings" could be exciting indeed.

marssaxman 2y ago

I can only guess which sort of drones you have in mind, but from my view, the routine use of cheap, hobbyist-level FPV racing drones to disable tanks in the Ukraine/Russia war rather supports the idea presented in that paragraph.

riku_iki 2y ago
Kinda doubtful "hobbyist-level FPV racing drones" can reliably disable tanks..
- marssaxman 2y ago
  "In an interview with Foreign Policy, a NATO official said that Ukrainian first-person-view drones, known commonly as FPV drones, were responsible for two-thirds of recent Russian tank losses." https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-losses-reflects-shortages-artillery-report-2024-4?op=1 https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drones-russia-tank-l...
  - riku_iki 2y ago
    The premise of the article is that Ukraine is not being able to disable tanks using conventional ways anymore because of lack of artillery shells. Also, "NATO official" tells nothing about quality of this report, it could be some clerks opinion.
    - marssaxman 2y ago
      I did read the article, yes, and I'm not sure what your point is. The existence of better weapons, which the Ukrainians cannot afford, changes nothing about the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago. Doubt the unnamed NATO official all you like, there are hundreds of videos on YouTube showing how the Ukrainian army uses drones against tanks; it is completely routine.
      - riku_iki 2y ago
        > the fact that cheap drones are effective anti-tank weapons, as ISIS first demonstrated ten years ago its not a fact to me, I don't know who is that "NATO official" and how reliable his data. From another hand I rely on common sense that main battle tanks are hardened against direct middle caliber fire, and one need good amount of explosive to produce such impact. Javelin's warhead is 9kg, so your drone need to be able to carry it on solid distance, and this is not the level of "cheap racing drones".
        marssaxman 2y ago
        If you are determined to remain skeptical of something which is being done every day, with a great deal of news coverage and abundant video documentation freely available to anyone who spends five minutes looking for it, there is nothing I can say that will help you. Have a nice day!
        riku_iki 2y ago
        I challenge your statements about happening every day and great deal of video documentation.
- brokenmachine 2y ago
  You also need RPG warheads and cable ties, which kinda makes the drones not really hobbyist level anymore.
  - riku_iki 2y ago
    I am more concerned that rpg weight and range add more requirements beyond "racing drone".
    - brokenmachine 2y ago
      There's also many videos of the Ukrainian drone factories with 3D printers making parts for them. I remember one video panning around in a basement with literally thousands of drone frames stacked up. They look exactly like basic hobby drone frames and the videos even show the same Betaflight OSD as any FPV hobbyist would recognize. I don't know why you are so reluctant to believe it despite the kazillion videos out there. A PG-7VL Single-stage HEAT RPG warhead is 730g of explosive. So just the warhead end is prob 1kg. It's not going to maneuver well but a large 7" drone can carry that.