Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
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Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
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Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#2[deleted]
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#3Isn't the problem with these missile defense systems that the per-unit cost is very high? And so in a longer term battle (like Russia vs Ukraine) one side can drain the other's defenses and $$ through the continuous use of cheap drones where the cost of the missile defense rocket far exceeds the cost of the sent drone?
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#4Isn't the problem with these missile defense systems that the per-unit cost is very high? And so in a longer term battle (like Russia vs Ukraine) one side can drain the other's defenses and $$ through the continuous use of cheap drones where the cost of the missile defense rocket far exceeds the cost of the sent drone?
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Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#5Tldr shortsightedness, and not predicting the ability of detection to help missiles chase other missiles.
I'm allergic to implications that social spending isn't enough, or that military spending is immune to criticism because "of course it will pan out".
The US cannot assume it will be a continued military leader ipso facto. If we fall significantly behind countries with desire for world domination and a hate for democracy, we will be on the receiving end of massive cyber attacks and drone swarms.
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#6People were (rightly) critical of the notion that missile defense was something the United States could rely upon to survive a nuclear war.
Scientists pointed out that this is a dangerous strategy, and that non-proliferation and arms reduction treaties were the only sane way to avoid nuclear annihilation. There is no amount of technology that is going to save Europe and the US in an all out nuclear war.
Theatre missile defense is another story. Systems like the S-400, the Patriot missile system and David's Sling can quite effectively protect a region from a variety of conventional aerial threats. They have been dutifully doing their job since the 1990s and are improving.
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#7Isn't the problem with these missile defense systems that the per-unit cost is very high? And so in a longer term battle (like Russia vs Ukraine) one side can drain the other's defenses and $$ through the continuous use of cheap drones where the cost of the missile defense rocket far exceeds the cost of the sent drone?
I’m guessing they’ll come up with cheaper solutions for shahed type drones, as they are slow and comparatively easier to shoot down.
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#8Isn't the problem with these missile defense systems that the per-unit cost is very high? And so in a longer term battle (like Russia vs Ukraine) one side can drain the other's defenses and $$ through the continuous use of cheap drones where the cost of the missile defense rocket far exceeds the cost of the sent drone?
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Money-the-abstraction can be created out of thin air. The things actually needed to launch or defend against a missile attack (machines with complicated mechanical and electronic parts) need to be manufactured. They can't be created out of thin air.
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#9Isn't the problem with these missile defense systems that the per-unit cost is very high? And so in a longer term battle (like Russia vs Ukraine) one side can drain the other's defenses and $$ through the continuous use of cheap drones where the cost of the missile defense rocket far exceeds the cost of the sent drone?
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Sure. "Money" is inexhaustible but political capital is not.
Re: Why so many of us were wrong about missile defense
#10The F-35 comment seems especially relevant as (for some reason) negative F-35 posts show up on hacker news all. of. the. time[0]. I don't get why negativity on this plane is such a hot topic here, it's like the lab leak theory of military planes.
On at that note why is this post here? Is there a theme to hacker news anymore?
[0]: https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...