4 ms·

$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).

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).