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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

#201
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can stick your head in the sand and pretend that humanity is not an intrinsically violent species, and that if we all held hands and sang Kumbaya we'd be able to get along peaceably and without need for defensive tools. Or you can wake up to the reality that a strong defensive, and sometimes offensive capability is required in order to enforce the state of peace that we all take for granted, and be part of the pr…

> enforce the state of peace that we all take for granted The majority of the worlds population do not take peace for granted. The question is, to what extend has US hegemony extended war and violence, and to what extent has it depleted it (compared to the available alternatives). Clearly enormous loss of life has occurred in places like Latin America, Iran, South East Asia Cuba etc due to US led toppling of democrat…

Regardless of any “Pax Americana”, nuclear weapons have been the greatest force for peace in history.

Before them, we had two devastating world wars in the span of about three decades, with over 100,000,000 dead total. Now we’ve gone over seven decades without another.

Let’s hope the deterrent holds through the current, ongoing, and horribly irresponsible brinksmanship.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But none of that even addresses my argument, Russia opposed NATO expansion. Let's be real here: Russia wants Ukraine to be "under their influence", preferably the same way Belarus is, and Chechnya. They want Ukraine to be their puppet state. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 because the population already gave clear indications that they wanted to move closer to the West. Russia was losing their grip on Ukraine. That'…

And NATO wanted it under their influence, I mean that is just the game of geopolitics.

NATO doesn't control any of the countries that decided to join. These are sovereign countries that decided to join an alliance for their own security. Most of the benefit comes from article 5 that protects smaller countries from being invaded.

This is very different than an imperial dictatorship like Russia, which actually does turn their conquests into puppet states.

But of course Russia and its minions like to act as if NATO is an imperial power. They also like to act as if USA controls all the NATO countries. While if fact, those countries are democracies that decide their own destinies.

So in the end, it's actually Ukraine that wants to join NATO for obvious reasons, not the other way around. NATO could have already let Ukraine join if it wanted to.

This is not 'NATO wanting Ukraine under their influence', this is 'Ukraine wanting the security guarantees that NATO offers'.

I'm getting really tired of all the Russian bullshit that's being spread here.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#204
post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How else do you propose we stop russian soldiers from raping, torturing, and murdering in Ukraine? If you have better ideas, please do let us know. The friends I have on the front line would certainly prefer to be at home with their families over Christmas rather than sitting in a trench, staving off frostbite and bullets.

[flagged]

> And for Ukraine, you can tell your friends it was nice knowing them. Russia is rapidly modernizing, gaining valuable experience, and outscaling NATO in ammunition production.

I see you read Russia Today and swallow, then repeat propaganda. The Russian military is toast...no one fears them anymore. If not for nuclear weapons, NATO would have brought down the Putin regime to dust.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But none of that even addresses my argument, Russia opposed NATO expansion, Russia threatened severe consequences, NATO gave no signs that Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO or entered any kind of negotiations, Russia delivered on its promise. The outcome was rather predictable, at least ignoring that Russia did not react as strongly to previous NATO expansions. Oh, so we're supposed to just listen and obey…

Oh, so we're supposed to just listen and obey every dictator out there now? No, you can also go to war with them. The one side wants Ukraine in NATO, the other not, so there is a conflict. You can now either negotiate some compromise that is acceptable for both sides or you have to fight this out. I personally think that a Ukrainian NATO membership is not worth hundred thousands of dead and wounded, millions of refug…

> I personally think that a Ukrainian NATO membership is not worth hundred thousands of dead and wounded, millions of refuges and a destroyed country, but others obviously disagree.

Well, it has been for the Ukrainians to decide. They have fought like hell to avoid being conquered by a foreign dictator that would destroy their country, their culture and the rape, torture and murder their own people.

> Which threats? Putin already decided that Ukrainian NATO membership is so important that he is willing to go to war over the issue if there is no political solution, he certainly expected sanctions and support from the West.

Which threats? I assure you that in the run-up to February 2022, there were some very serious phone calls and meetings between the USA State Department and the Russian Foreign Ministry. Just because that wasn't reported on the news doesn't mean it didn't happen. Often we try to find solutions to problems without it being a public announcement.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#206
post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> enforce the state of peace that we all take for granted The majority of the worlds population do not take peace for granted. The question is, to what extend has US hegemony extended war and violence, and to what extent has it depleted it (compared to the available alternatives). Clearly enormous loss of life has occurred in places like Latin America, Iran, South East Asia Cuba etc due to US led toppling of democrat…

Regardless of any “Pax Americana”, nuclear weapons have been the greatest force for peace in history. Before them, we had two devastating world wars in the span of about three decades, with over 100,000,000 dead total. Now we’ve gone over seven decades without another. Let’s hope the deterrent holds through the current, ongoing, and horribly irresponsible brinksmanship.

I mean, so far. Then one day, line go up.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#207
post #3

Very cool, curious about $$$ vs competing platforms The Hanger that houses the Roadrunner gives me "last thing you see as Q* becomes sentient and launches the killer drones" vibes.

The war of the machines will look more like the Bhopal disaster, and less like a war.

Of course, maybe we're already post-singularity. My memory of the before-times is pretty hazy and confused. "Reality" seems more and more like a camp Paul Verhoeven satire of reality.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#208

We often hear about "secret" aircraft, chosen to be secret by the govt to not disclose capabilities to potential enemies. However this is clearly disclosing capabilities. Is it just because it's a private company, wouldn't part of their contract with the govt. to keep their new weapons a secret?

They have lawyers to vet releases, no doubt? I don't think this is Palmer live-tweeting from the toilet stall.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you work for the company?

Computer generated video is getting better, but it isn't that good yet.

It's more about budget and eye, though. A skilled CG industry veteran with no time or $$$ budget and a deep immersion in in say r/combatfootage and physics could probably make something that would pass for real. It's just that all of those talents and circumstances don't really come together. Hmmm.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#210
post #94

I’ve been watching a bunch of these videos where they war game realistic and pretty far fetched battle scenarios https://youtube.com/@grimreapers?si=lvRNWBee9RfnkxBI . They’ll cover stuff like a Chinese carrier group vs a US carrier group using slightly futuristic weapons. What often decides the outcomes of battles are the accuracy of ships’ air defenses and how many missiles they have onboard. Shooting down superson…

> What often decides the outcomes of battles are the accuracy of ships’ air defenses and how many missiles they have onboard. I always do wonder how realistic these war games actually are? They (at least the war games that are public) always assume at least one or both sides are near 100% competent with their systems. The Ukraine war has at least showed that that is not the case, the best example perhaps being the si…

> I always do wonder how realistic these war games actually are?

The YouTube ones? No they’re entertainment. They talk a lot about the limitations of the software they use. For example, they say simulated hypersonic missile are likely much less accurate than they are in the game. But I think there’s plenty to glean from them.

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