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Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

anduril.com

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Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#41

Post by everly »

memonkey wrote: post #32

Why? Why is this a thing? ..."and destroy a wide variety of aerial threats"... Okay, but what/who is the root problem that created this company to solve this issue? The either real or perceived threats that the United States and its media affiliations have concocted has really put a tamper on its own ability to make policy decisions that benefit its own peoples. We are spending BILLIONS of dollars on wars in other co…

Seemed pretty clear to me. Drones are a dime a dozen. Drone defense is disproportionately costly. This product's goal is to protect from drone attacks without wasting a bunch of million-dollar missiles.

Regardless of one's feelings on the military-industrial complex, the use case seems relatively straightforward.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#44

Post by gantron »

memonkey wrote: post #32

Why? Why is this a thing? ..."and destroy a wide variety of aerial threats"... Okay, but what/who is the root problem that created this company to solve this issue? The either real or perceived threats that the United States and its media affiliations have concocted has really put a tamper on its own ability to make policy decisions that benefit its own peoples. We are spending BILLIONS of dollars on wars in other co…

A reasonable guess is that this is in response to the proliferation of group 3 UAS in the Ukraine conflict [0]. Personally, I am all for the US producing robotic systems designed to kill robotic systems that are designed to kill humans.

[0]https://www.eurasiantimes.com/deliveries-of-russias-deadly-o...

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#45

Post by Fabricio20 »

brotchie wrote: post #21
tonymet wrote: post #20

why not just detach the warhead and save the drone?

Too complicated. My understanding is that you have an defensive area with ~20 of the hangers scattered around. 1. !!Incoming threat!! 2. LAUNCH ALL THE DRONES, 3. One intercepts, 4. Other loiter a while in case of additional threats, 5. Remaining drones return to base. Get the operational advantage of having many vehicles in the air, all controllable by one operator, but you recover those not used.

I guess this is the best scenario for this as far as I can tell, but as another commenter mentioned, how is this better than standard small missiles such as a normal "Iron Dome" style system?

Having them "in the air" waiting doesn't seem to be that big of a help when your missile launcher can have the rocket in the air about as fast after an intercept command is issued. And small missiles are and will continue to get cheaper.

Maybe the price calculation gets better for guaranteeing an intercept? Since either you assume Drone/Missile #1 is going to hit or you fire more just in case that first one misses, because waiting to see if you have a hit before firing another is not an option, and given enough delay and fast communication you could have the second drone abort and fly back after a confirmed intercept.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#46

Post by grogenaut »

nullhole wrote: post #39
trevyn wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a better small missile, not better than a small missile.

The fact that it can land if it doesn't explode seems like a big deal. Launch a bunch at a target, first one gets blown up, rest return to base for later use.

make several at less cost because no return hardware, reduced weight or increased range, make it up in volume. Also this can break on re-use, less chance to be faulty with a factory checked item in a box

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#48

Post by charcircuit »

xyzzyz wrote: post #42
charcircuit wrote: post #33

Cool, but where are the specs, the release date? This product announcement doesn't have much information.

What kind of "release" are you talking about? You mean when it hits the shelves of Bass Pro Shops?

>What kind of "release" are you talking about?

When people are able to buy it.

>You mean when it hits the shelves of Bass Pro Shops?

I would expect an online shop like most specialty goods.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#49

Post by poof131 »

I want missile trucks. That launch from submarines. Can carry AMRAAM, SLAM, JSOW, etc. Can land in the water and be recovered by the submarine and launched for more missile truck missions. I’d war-game this against super duper expensive jets, carriers, etc. Maybe even the subs can be autonomous and run off AI.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#50

Post by gantron »

jkachmar wrote: post #29

> i, personally, would not accept money from the company actively militarizing the southern US border but that's just me food for thought, and that was even before they were advertising offensive weapons technologies of this sort.

Scattering sensors in the desert is militarizing the border? That’s an awfully dramatic characterization, no?
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