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Missed that news; https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-pledges-deliver-100000-drones-ukraine-by-april-2026-2025-06-03/ https://www.reuters

by pjc50 1y ago

Missed that news; https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-pledges-deliver-100000-drones-ukraine-by-april-2026-2025-06-03/ https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/britain-p... I think we're already deep into large-scale drone warfare. Destroying a third of the enemy heavy bomber fleet is pretty substantial. It feels to me like that attack operated like Pearl Harbor, a marker that the old way of surface naval warfare / air attack was being replaced by a new one. Don't forget that Russia has their own drones. They were the first to deploy the fiber-optic cable drones as an anti-ECM measure. And of course both sides are ordering parts from China.

IshKebab 1y ago
$4k per drone... ouch.
- pjc50 1y ago
  A lot of money if you're a UK benefits recipient, not a lot of money for a piece of military equipment. Slightly more than the annual allowance of one asylum seeker. Whole program is about a third of the cost of a Type 26 Frigate.
  - CommanderData 1y ago
    The asylum seeker comparison is interesting. While I want to reduce the number, I can't but help think how we essentially create them in the first place by destroying the countries which create the economic conditions they flee from.
    - dash2 1y ago
      Asylum seekers are not fleeing bad economic conditions, or at least they are claiming not to. Also, we didn't create refugees from Syria or Ukraine - Syria and Russia did.
      - CommanderData 1y ago
        Not entirely, I think western powers had much more involvement then you have summarized. Destabilising a country, causing military coups, arming rebel forces all play a part.
- ponector 1y ago
  Kamikaze FPV drones starts from $400 (without warhead), from $1000 if it has 20km of optic fiber or is an interceptor. If it is not a kamikaze, like heavy bomber or reconnaissance - $10k+. Extremely affordable!
  - throwaway2037 1y ago
    How much does 20km of optic fibre weigh? Why don't these fibre strands suffer from the same physical limits as cabling used in suspension bridges? To be clear: I am not doubting that multi-kilometer optic fibre controlled drones do not exist. There are plenty of highly quality news sources and YouTube videos about them.
    - IshKebab 1y ago
      Presumably they are lying on the ground.
    - vbezhenar 1y ago
      https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/423372174/detail.aspx https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/423372174/detail.aspx Weight: 2.2 kg Price: 78 000 ₽ ($1000) Just to clarify, this 20km fibre spool is installed on the drone itself and unwinds automatically as drone flies.
- rhcom2 1y ago
  One Tu-22M is $100 million.
  - vbezhenar 1y ago
    It is priceless. It's not produced anymore. You can't exchange $100 million for new Tu-22M. Not exactly priceless, you probably can replicate the production by rebuilding the factories for every component and all related production chains. But that'll be much more than $100 million.
- SergeAx 1y ago
  Current price of a 155mm artillery shell (risen from $2k before 2023).
londons_explore 1y ago
Current warfare is drone Vs people. Future warfare will be drone Vs drone, and we might see the main battlefield entirely devoid of people until one or other side runs out of drones.

by pjc50 1y ago

IshKebab 1y ago

$4k per drone... ouch.

pjc50 1y ago
A lot of money if you're a UK benefits recipient, not a lot of money for a piece of military equipment. Slightly more than the annual allowance of one asylum seeker. Whole program is about a third of the cost of a Type 26 Frigate.
- CommanderData 1y ago
  The asylum seeker comparison is interesting. While I want to reduce the number, I can't but help think how we essentially create them in the first place by destroying the countries which create the economic conditions they flee from.
  - dash2 1y ago
    Asylum seekers are not fleeing bad economic conditions, or at least they are claiming not to. Also, we didn't create refugees from Syria or Ukraine - Syria and Russia did.
    - CommanderData 1y ago
      Not entirely, I think western powers had much more involvement then you have summarized. Destabilising a country, causing military coups, arming rebel forces all play a part.
ponector 1y ago
Kamikaze FPV drones starts from $400 (without warhead), from $1000 if it has 20km of optic fiber or is an interceptor. If it is not a kamikaze, like heavy bomber or reconnaissance - $10k+. Extremely affordable!
- throwaway2037 1y ago
  How much does 20km of optic fibre weigh? Why don't these fibre strands suffer from the same physical limits as cabling used in suspension bridges? To be clear: I am not doubting that multi-kilometer optic fibre controlled drones do not exist. There are plenty of highly quality news sources and YouTube videos about them.
  - IshKebab 1y ago
    Presumably they are lying on the ground.
  - vbezhenar 1y ago
    https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/423372174/detail.aspx https://www.wildberries.ru/catalog/423372174/detail.aspx Weight: 2.2 kg Price: 78 000 ₽ ($1000) Just to clarify, this 20km fibre spool is installed on the drone itself and unwinds automatically as drone flies.
rhcom2 1y ago
One Tu-22M is $100 million.
- vbezhenar 1y ago
  It is priceless. It's not produced anymore. You can't exchange $100 million for new Tu-22M. Not exactly priceless, you probably can replicate the production by rebuilding the factories for every component and all related production chains. But that'll be much more than $100 million.
SergeAx 1y ago
Current price of a 155mm artillery shell (risen from $2k before 2023).

londons_explore 1y ago

Current warfare is drone Vs people. Future warfare will be drone Vs drone, and we might see the main battlefield entirely devoid of people until one or other side runs out of drones.