this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2025
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NonCredibleDefense

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[–] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 hours ago

Ace Combat 7.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 76 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

Well, no but actually yes. See the countless videos of people in Ukraine flying a DJI into a Russian airbase and just dropping fucking grenades on planes.

Also, consider:

  • We already have military drones that are practically fully automated, and we had our first fully autonomous kill decision five years ago now.

  • DARPA did some tests with an AI piloted fighter jet in 2022, it successfully killed all human enemy jets 5/5 times.

  • The weakest part of an air superiority platform is the squishy meatbag flying it. Without having to worry about keeping a human alive, you can make air superiority fighters that are vastly more capable with high-g maneuvering and more compact air frames.

Now, Elon's not talking about air superiority drones, he's talking about drone swarms. Drone swarms ARE a real threat, but AFAIK they're more of an infrastructure threat in that they're usually worried about in the context of disabling ships, airports, etc. not individual fighter jets. For that, you get Vadim to tie a grenade to his DJI.

[–] DeathsEmbrace@lemm.ee 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I have one piece of Military classified tech that makes every plane useless. New war is never going to use drones or planes or they will lose everything.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It's an anime sword, isn't it?

[–] DeathsEmbrace@lemm.ee 10 points 1 day ago (1 children)

It has the power of god and anime inside of it.

[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

This guy has studied the blade while others spent time on leisure activities

[–] And009@lemmynsfw.com 1 points 3 hours ago

Katana senpai

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago

The weakest part of an air superiority platform is the squishy meatbag flying it.

Only true of 4th Gen jets. 5th Gen doesn't need as high maneuverability. If they did, you'd see further developments in combat drugs and water breathing suits.

[–] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 day ago

New weapons almost never replace old ones, they supplement. Drones aren't going to replace piloted jets, but they can absolutely supplement them in the form of wingmen. Drones won't replace artillery, guided missiles or grenades, but they will replace SOME of them.

A drone swarm will never replace a jet, but it might replace some artillery bombardments.

[–] softcat@lemmy.ca 60 points 2 days ago

The trick is to use the drone while the plane is sleeping in the hangar

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 22 points 1 day ago

The documentary piece called Ace Combat 7 told me that jets would win.

[–] AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (1 children)

There is a lot more improvement that can be made to drones (Coordination, guidance, speed, etc) and advancement in battery technology seems fairly inevitable

[–] kogasa@programming.dev 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Unless the improvements include making them fly at the same speed and height as fighter jets I'm not seeing the endgame.

[–] AdrianTheFrog@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They don't have to be faster, they just need to be in front of the fighter jets and small enough that they can't be seen until too late

[–] brendansimms@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

so hovering minefields then

[–] Shardikprime@lemmy.world 1 points 19 hours ago

Now you are getting it

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 18 points 2 days ago (2 children)

But how do you get the crewed aircraft to hold still long enough?

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I think we are going to be getting to a point where signal jamming is going to become a more critical part of warfare. A military base isn't going to allow any kind of transmission to occur nearby in order to protect itself.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

This is why laser targeting is a thing. Cant jam a laser beam.

[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

fiber optic drones (spool of fiber optic cable gets video signal from drone, and sends commands) is unjammable.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 1 points 1 day ago

Great way to paint yourself

[–] guy@piefed.social 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

smoke barriers has entered the discussion

[–] Steve@startrek.website 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

slight breeze counters your defence

[–] guy@piefed.social 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

What about those smoke machines from discos? Just put 5% of the military budget into permanent smoke generators. And of course additionally 2% for speakers to create a creepy ambiance

[–] GoodLuckToFriends@lemmy.today 1 points 18 hours ago

So THAT'S why the war simulator games from the early 2000s had all those fog of war simulations going! It wasn't rendering distance capabilities at all!

[–] nexguy@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago (12 children)

Drones could act as automated movable flack. Just get a bunch to get near the flight path and explode. There are definitely drones with a range way over 1 mile.

[–] EtherWhack@lemmy.world 7 points 1 day ago

Or put some pieces of high-carbon steel/titanium on the drone and just let them get sucked into the intake.

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[–] yesman@lemmy.world 12 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Elon is just dishing out the same Russian talking points as Pierre Sprey. Updated to acknowledge Ukraine. High tech weapons could never defeat Russian ingenuity.

Of course they want to talk about the massive impact of drones! Distracts from the abysmal performance of Russia's military. If these grifters were actually just neutral observers amused at military incompetence, they don't have to look to the future. Aug'22 has enough unforced error anecdotes to last a lifetime.

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Ehhhh, drones have meaningfully transformed the battlefield. It's why trench warfare came back; basically every inch of the battlefield is under constant surveillance. The instant a large number of people jump up out of a trench, some drone operator is talking to an artillery crew. You'd best believe that our intelligence and defense apparatus was taking extensive notes. Emphasis on was.

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[–] ryedaft@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago (12 children)
[–] Stillwater@sh.itjust.works 25 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] rooster_butt@lemm.ee 12 points 1 day ago

Thank you for the mnemonic.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 12 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Easy. One mile is 1609.34 meters. One meter is 3.28 feet. 1609.34 times 3,28 is 5278,63.

[–] bladerunnerspider@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (4 children)

So you just need about six drones to reach the necessary altitude..

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[–] Please_Do_Not@lemm.ee 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)
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[–] d00ery@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Clearly at speed or altitude the aircraft should be safe, but it is vulnerable on the ground, at take off and landing. Obviously there are counter measures. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-65591023

[–] JohnDClay@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 day ago

Jets are usually most vulnerable on the ground. This is another attack profile the air field defenses will need to guard against, along with cruise missiles, stealth bombers, hypersonic missiles, and many more.

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