"The Flame of the West", eh?
Cool logo and branding, but also kinda creepy.
Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
161–170 of 259 posts
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#162[flagged]
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#163Earlier quoted context omitted.
It could loiter on the ground , relaunch and hit a target that never saw it coming because it wasn't airborne except for the last little bit.
Can it self-relaunch though? I wonder because it jettisons a lot of junk coming out of its box, VTOL landing is going to be expensive in fuel costs and it deploys some landing gear which would need to be retractable. It’s also subsonic, loud and quite large so isn’t going to be particularly stealthy. My bet would be something more akin to a small missile you can launch speculatively with more range and capability tha…
It looks to be launched from the 'nest' by spring/air using the sabot because it leaves so quickly. No way a jet could accelerate it that quickly on its own.
That doesn't mean it's incapable of taking off on its own vertically though.
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#164Earlier quoted context omitted.
We are already spending money on this type of problem. Realistically, this looks like a more cost-effective solution. So you have it completely backwards – this being a thing might actually unlock more funds for domestic issues. Of course it probably won't work out this way because the DoD doesn't just say "We bought a bunch of Anduril Roadrunner's instead of $4m Patriot missiles [or whatever] this year, so we don't…
> Just look at SpaceX – before SpaceX, NASA had the ability to send stuff to space. But post-SpaceX, they can send more payloads at a cheaper cost. Isn't that better? They're now at the whim of an exceedingly eccentric billionaire for their space flight stuff. If Musk one day says he doesn't want to put up satellites that can be used to threaten Russia, NASA can't do anything about it, at least immediately (as they c…
Before NASA started using SpaceX they basically didn't have launch capacity. They were sending astronauts to the ISS on Soyuz rockets. A private US company being the best available launch provider is an improvement on the previous status quo.
Beyond that, there are now many, many other private endeavors working to add launch capacity, many of which exist thanks to SpaceX.
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
[flagged]
> This is what got us the Ukraine war in the first place, an uncompromising hard line against a weak Russia because the USA was in the position to do so. Russia opposed each NATO expansion but did nothing in the end and it was the same gamble with Ukraine, hoping that Russia will once more do nothing. Ah, the classic "The West forced Russia to invade Ukraine. Like the government in Ukraine didn't have any legitimate…
Forced is not true and I did not say that, Russia could also have decided not to invaded. I also did not say that Ukraine has no reasons to want to join NATO, they have and they most likely had them long before 2014.
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.
We can debate all day long whether NATO should expand, whether Russia should have any say in which alliances Ukraine enters, whether an invasion is a justifiable means, whether Russia would have invaded anyway if NATO would have given up on the expansion, that are all fair questions. My point is just that there was a relatively simple situation, Russia warns NATO, one step closer and there will be war, and NATO decides that it will make that step.
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#166The 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.
In general, I 100% agree with you, and I totally see how the technology displayed here can, is, and will be applied to more offensive purposes. But in this one specific case, this thing is a missile defense tool. Its sole purpose is to reduce killing.
Well, it looks like a more fancy VTOL Shahed. ;-)
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aren’t they using guns to fight cheap drones, at least for cities in Ukraine ? Eg Gepard.
What goes up must come down, including the unexploded ordnance these systems produce. Not ideal for use in populated environments.
The better AA autocanon shells actually have a timed airburst fuze (set at firing time!) so only small fragments should be raining down (for non-dud shells).
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
Banderites: followers of Stepan Bandera. You know, those people with Nazi insignia that are celebrated as heroes in Ukraine. And feature in NATO photos. https://www.newsweek.com/nato-says-it-didnt-notice-ukraine-s...
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...
Is Anduril(and by extension Palantir...?) Russia connected? The -M suffix used in the weaponized version is reminiscent of Russian nomenclature("Modified" or "Modernized" in Russian spelling).
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#169Earlier 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...
Is Anduril(and by extension Palantir...?) Russia connected? The -M suffix used in the weaponized version is reminiscent of Russian nomenclature("Modified" or "Modernized" in Russian spelling).
No.
Re: Anduril announces Roadrunner, jet-powered VTOL drone
#170Earlier 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
For a single engagement your logic is sound. But for a prolonged war logistics is extremely challenging. Wars have been won and lost based on who is better at bringing fuel, supplies and ammunition to the battlefield.
If you can reduce volume and weight of missile shipments with these things that might be incredibly valuable, even if it's more expensive overall