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Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

anduril.com

131–140 of 259 posts

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#131
post #73

It feels like someone copied this company verbatim out of a cyberpunk world and pasted it in our world. Everything is cyberpunk, down to the name, logo, design style and products. Unbelievably cool, but it also terrifies me.

Aesthetics turns out to be pretty powerful even for things like war. This must really attract gamer engineers. There was once certain army that used clothes by Hugo Boss that also looked super cool and i am sure many people loved how they looked in them.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#132
post #81
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Think for a second about what the sensors will be used to do.

Convert the straights into gays and the gays into straights?

No, they would be used to detect people crossing the border. What else would you use them for!?

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#133

Where is the UK/EU equivalent of Anduril? Seems this "neo-defense" revolution is a US only phenomenon.

Loads of stuff like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hornet_Nano The defence industry in the EU is just is less ra-ra jingoism mixed with SV hype in comparison.

Perhaps the EU could do with some ra-ra jingoism!

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, but why hasn't there been a WW3 yet?

We’re currently at the start of WW3, as NATO vs BRICS escalates. The waste of the US military in Iraq, the defeat in Afghanistan, the failures of domestic spying and PSYOPs dividing the nation, and the failed war in Ukraine has precipitated a state of weakness where rival countries are jockeying for position in both the Middle East and SE Asia. China is openly waging irregular warfare against the US, killing 100,000+…

> We're currently at the start of WW3, as NATO vs BRICS escalates.

And yet before the end of December you'll likely see the USAF working with Brazilian armed forces in Guyana against Maduro's invasion, and now the B of BRICS is out of the equation.

You should stop reading Russian propaganda as if it was news…

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to be pretty out of touch (or just dishonest) to think that russia’s war against Ukraine has anything to do with Naziism. https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/02/pro-kremlin-ne...

Russia’s war in Ukraine is about NATO being on their doorstep and the failure of negotiated peace. That doesn’t change that the US trained and armed Banderites in Ukraine.

Russia invaded Ukraine for the same reason it started a war with Chechenia and Georgia. Let me tell you: it has absolute zero to do with NATO. NATO however, has everything to do with Russia constantly trying to invade their neighbours.

Besides, NATO is already at their doorstep with Finland. Did it change anything?

And how can you negotiate with a country like Russia? Peace deal now is an invasion in 5 years.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#136
post #5
post #2

ATM the biggest problem for LRAD is cost, you fire a $12K Patriot missile to intercept what is either a $40 million jet or a $300 drone. This is revolutionary.

$12k Patriot missile? You are off a couple whole orders of magnitude.

Iron Dome missiles reportedly cost $60k, and that is considered cheap.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#137

The whole defense industry leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Once you peel the narrative that we are supposed to be the good guys (hint: in some/most cases, we are not), you realize that you really just help to kill people.

I get where you are coming from. In the last two decades, the USA and allies have spent trillions of dollars increasing the suffering and death in Iraq and Afghanistan, and didn't even gain much geopolitical advantage in return. A giant waste of time, money, and human life. Had we not invaded them, there might be a million more Iraqis alive today. Afghanistan would still be a failed state though.

The 2014 invasion of Ukraine was not a significant news event for me. Ukraine was weak, and the tepid response to the invasion from Ukraine and the rest of the West meant that Russia just rolled in without opposition or much drama.

Fast forward 8 years, and Ukraine has further developed its national identity and is starting to become a real democracy. The 2022 invasion was a big wake-up call for the West. We had thought that we had won the Cold War in 1992, and that our geopolitical rivals, while still warranting concern, were not a direct threat to us and our allies anymore. Nope! It turns out there is still a need for the USA to be an unrivaled global superpower, and for the rest of NATO to get its ass in gear and modernize.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Production cost is just one cost. Often the logistics of bringing a lot of stuff to the point of contact is much more challenging. Then it can be a very useful if you don't have to "waste" all ordnance if it misses.

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#139

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…

I thought they were focusing more on lasers for carrier defense?

Lasers are, unfortunately, still a planned weapon. And they have some un-correctable problems, for example they don't work in a fog, and their maximum effective range is very small. Carrier strike groups rely entirely on Aegis for defence against a peer opponent. While Aegis is a beast (seriously, it's amazing, it can even destroy satellites in LEO) you have to expect some carriers will be sunk.

Lasers will be very good for VSHORAD, like in Israel or for point defences of objects like embassies or bases in questionable places (CRAM - Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar).

Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone

#140
post #86
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think for a second about what the sensors will be used to do.

I fail to see how a country maintaining awareness of passages across its borders is a bad thing.

Especially when it comes to smuggling drugs across the border.

Of course, we could fix the drug smuggling by decriminalizing drug addiction and treating it like other public health issues. But the "War on Drugs" still rages on, after decades of failure.

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