Live data from Hacker News

Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

mod.gov.il

251–260 of 629 posts

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Israel has a right to defense qua state and Palestinians have a right to resist qua subjects of unjust rule. These aren’t really contradictory positions, and both are pretty standard from a “this is what the UN says” ground truth[1][2]. (This is distinct from a state’s “right to exist,” which is nonsense. But once a state does exist, it has the right to defend itself by definition.) [1]: https://www.un.org/en…

If they both have a right to kill each other, does the other really have a right to defense? Making it complicated introduces legalistic flaws and distracts everyone from actually fixing it by doing something simple, like tying sanctions to murders of civillians.

> can the right to kill coexist with the victim's right to defense?

Yes it can, and it's ludicrous to suggest otherwise. Russia believes it has the natural right to reclaim what it considers to be Russian territory. Ukraine believes it has the right to be free. So everyone should just put down their weapons and come to an agreement based on these rights?

The fallacy at the heart of your argument is that there is somehow some greater single truth, and that each side agrees that it is the greater single truth, and that everyone will just peaceably agree to follow the single greater truth because it is the single greater truth. Nothing could be less human. What are we, the Borg? We're supposed to follow some hive mind?

> something simple, like tying sanctions to murders of civilians

Not even remotely simple. Define sanctions, murders, civilians. The US bombing "drug" boats in the Caribbean, are those civilians? International law recognizes that collateral damage can legitimately happen during legitimate military operations. Is the collateral damage "murder"? How far should sanctions go? Sanction enemy banks (layer 1)? Sanction citizens of neutral countries who do business with the enemy country (layer 2)? Sanction citizens of neutral countries who do business with other citizens who do business with the enemy country (layer 3)?

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#252
post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The re-edited title frames this as an anti-drone system but this was foremost developed as an anti-rocket system. Hamas and Hezbollah MO since the 1990s was based on bombing Israeli towns with statistical rockets and this system is supposed to reverse the cost equation (cheaper than those cheap rockets) Today this is also used for drones though

Statistical rockets?

The rockets are very imprecise, but a large number of them, hitting the territory of a town, will deal damage, bodily harm, and death at random, due to statistics. It's Monte Carlo bombing of sorts :(

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#253

Personally I think that defensive technology like this is fantastic. It means that innocent citizens will be protected from constant bombardment or thread of bombardment by cheap mass produced rockets or drones. Israeli civilians have faced bombardment by tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza for the last 20 years [1]. Outside the Middle East there's many areas threatened by combatants with similar cheap missiles. P…

Data says it’s the Palestinians that need defenses, not the ones doing 95% of the killing.

https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#254
post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They have economic related riots starting as we speak so the progressive end result (a few riots down the line) might either be this or regime change

Riots are going to end predictably badly when those participating do not have guns. Just like a couple years ago other there. Probably a lesson here.

It's usually progressive until the people with guns are too afraid to shoot, as in the fall of USSR

Although I will believe there are a few more iterations before this regime falls

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#255
post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, but an AI drone like the one Turkey has can probably detect the source of the beam by hiding behind some sacrificial/decoy drones and watching them blow up then shooting a missile at the laser source. It's not like the laser is coming out of thin air.

Shooting down missiles is what this is for .

[dead]

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#256

Personally I think that defensive technology like this is fantastic. It means that innocent citizens will be protected from constant bombardment or thread of bombardment by cheap mass produced rockets or drones. Israeli civilians have faced bombardment by tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza for the last 20 years [1]. Outside the Middle East there's many areas threatened by combatants with similar cheap missiles. P…

Data says it’s the Palestinians that need defenses, not the ones doing 95% of the killing. https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties

What kind of argument is that? All civilians should be protected.

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

All lies? Hamas and Islamic Jihad shooting thousands of rockets before, during and after October 7 massacre is documented[1] by Wikipedia (that does have documented anti-israel bias[2]) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_and_the_Israeli%E2%8...

When does this cease to justify any possible retribution? How many murdered palestinian children, or emergency workers, or aid workers balances this out? How much torture of prisoners?

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#258

Personally I think that defensive technology like this is fantastic. It means that innocent citizens will be protected from constant bombardment or thread of bombardment by cheap mass produced rockets or drones. Israeli civilians have faced bombardment by tens of thousands of rockets from Gaza for the last 20 years [1]. Outside the Middle East there's many areas threatened by combatants with similar cheap missiles. P…

Data says it’s the Palestinians that need defenses, not the ones doing 95% of the killing. https://www.ochaopt.org/data/casualties

Palestinians patrons need to tell them they aren't going to win militarily against the Israeli's

Re: Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

#259
post #210
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you could alternatively pount towards israeli expansionism, which is a bit more likely than religious extremism. demolish peoples homes and kidnap their families, and theyre gonna respond in whatever way they can. i expect the iron beam is going to make a lot more deaths, just of people israelis dont consider human. wooo

[flagged]

This is hasbara. You need to learn more about Israeli history. Hamas was elected with the support of Netanyahu et al. And 50% of the people in Gaza weren’t even alive when Hamas was elected. (However many of them remain. The death toll after Oct 7 will probably be around 500,000 dead)

Israel has never been interested in a peace deal.

It is a settler colonialist project in the finest traditions of such with the aim of conquering the entire region. And the US and friends support it for racist and capitalist reasons.

Post reply on HN