Export thread

Combat airships!

wat?

Impressive. I like how they can stay deployed for 3 weeks... it's like the lidless eye of Sauron watching over you! Beware hobbitses!

That'll go over like a lead zeppelin.

Won't these be incredibly easy to shoot down?

Bah! Kome back ven dey hef really gone schteampunk und gotten zum Jägermonsters!

- Provided by Santiago's Jägerizer. Now dat iz zum goot talk!

AshburnerX said:

Won't these be incredibly easy to shoot down?

Click to expand...

With what? Fighter planes? Yes...

SAM's? Radar guided... probably...

RPG's and small arms? No...

Actually seems like an excellent asymmetrical warfare weapon.

SpecialKO said:

Actually seems like an excellent asymmetrical warfare weapon.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is why police departments want them.

Azurephoenix said:

Impressive. I like how they can stay deployed for 3 weeks... it's like the lidless eye of Sauron watching over you! Beware hobbitses!

Click to expand...

sixpackshaker;401875][QUOTE=SpecialKO said:

Actually seems like an excellent asymmetrical warfare weapon.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is why police departments want them.[/QUOTE]

I suppose this makes sense... they are easier to fly and have more active time than helicopters, plus much quieter so they don't let everyone know that their is a bust going on.

AshburnerX said:

Won't these be incredibly easy to shoot down?

Click to expand...

flying at 20,000 feet?

Matt²;401927][QUOTE=AshburnerX said:

Won't these be incredibly easy to shoot down?

Click to expand...

flying at 20,000 feet?[/QUOTE]

well.. first they have to spot it. I presume since it is white, it suppose to "blend" in with the clouds? I guess if an enemy fighter were in the area, it could shoot it down.

It probably would not be especially useful against any country with a capable air force.

SpecialKO said:

It probably would not be especially useful against any country with a capable air force.

Click to expand...

It doesn't say much on stealth. So I figure it can come up on radar?

SpecialKO said:

It probably would not be especially useful against any country with a capable air force.

Click to expand...

Try any air force. In our current state of doing police actions as opposed to out and out warfare, these are good... but against anybody who has any sort of Anti-Air defense , these will go down quick. It's a valuable niche, but a niche none the less.

It depends how radar-reflective the material (or the onboard equipment) is. If it's bouncing its own radar signals off the ground to spot things, I imagine it would show up itself on radar.

I would imagine these things are probably equipped with pretty significant countermeasures against radar guided missiles. Obviously they would be dead meat against an enemy aircraft (unless they are packing their own air to air missiles... which they probably are) but I doubt they would be deployed so carelessly.

Like SpecialKO said... depending on what they are made of, they may have a huge radar signature... or maybe a deceptively small one.

Actually I'd imagine they're completely unarmed. These look to be used for observation more than anything else.

Null said:

Actually I'd imagine they're completely unarmed. These look to be used for observation more than anything else.

Click to expand...

Awww... boring!

Azurephoenix said:

I would imagine these things are probably equipped with pretty significant countermeasures against radar guided missiles. Obviously they would be dead meat against an enemy aircraft (unless they are packing their own air to air missiles... which they probably are) but I doubt they would be deployed so carelessly.

Like SpecialKO said... depending on what they are made of, they may have a huge radar signature... or maybe a deceptively small one.

Click to expand...

True, but countermeasures only work if the weapon is guided. Couldn't you just fire like 10-20 unguided missiles in it's general direction and count on at least one hitting something? I know that's how they shot down that Blackhawk (but that was literally like a hundred RPGs).

AshburnerX;401981][QUOTE=Azurephoenix said:

I would imagine these things are probably equipped with pretty significant countermeasures against radar guided missiles. Obviously they would be dead meat against an enemy aircraft (unless they are packing their own air to air missiles... which they probably are) but I doubt they would be deployed so carelessly.

Like SpecialKO said... depending on what they are made of, they may have a huge radar signature... or maybe a deceptively small one.

Click to expand...

True, but countermeasures only work if the weapon is guided. Couldn't you just fire like 10-20 unguided missiles in it's general direction and count on at least one hitting something? I know that's how they shot down that Blackhawk (but that was literally like a hundred RPGs).[/QUOTE]

Shooting that many at once for a single target isn't horribly likely. Missiles are expensive. Also, with as common as guiding technology is now, it'd be a safe bet to have more guided missiles than non.

CynicismKills;401983][QUOTE=AshburnerX;401981][QUOTE=Azurephoenix said:

I would imagine these things are probably equipped with pretty significant countermeasures against radar guided missiles. Obviously they would be dead meat against an enemy aircraft (unless they are packing their own air to air missiles... which they probably are) but I doubt they would be deployed so carelessly.

Like SpecialKO said... depending on what they are made of, they may have a huge radar signature... or maybe a deceptively small one.

Click to expand...

True, but countermeasures only work if the weapon is guided. Couldn't you just fire like 10-20 unguided missiles in it's general direction and count on at least one hitting something? I know that's how they shot down that Blackhawk (but that was literally like a hundred RPGs).[/QUOTE]

Shooting that many at once for a single target isn't horribly likely. Missiles are expensive. Also, with as common as guiding technology is now, it'd be a safe bet to have more guided missiles than non.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, it's a different story with RPG-7 rockets, as those are cheap as hell. But they don't have nearly the range to take out these things. Maybe they could get up some old Anti-Aircraft guns up? Not sure about the rang eon those though.

Even dedicated stealth isn't a guarantee. Remember that F-117 that was taken down over Serbia?

I think considering the battles we're fighting today, these will be highly useful. Our current enemies aren't exactly flying in fighter jets.

I could definitely see some fantastic police applications - I'd idly pondered something similar to this, only I didn't extrapolate it far enough.

As an observation platform, it would be great - with FLIR and some designators, it would also be a fairly stable platform to paint a laser on a target for strike aircraft, too, or artillery firing Copperheads...

Yeah, this is definitely a low-intensity, long duration campaign type of vehicle.

Null said:

Yeah, this is definitely a low-intensity, long duration campaign type of vehicle.

Click to expand...

A countermeasure for the zombie uprising? Finally!

Null said:

Yeah, this is definitely a low-intensity, long duration campaign type of vehicle.

Click to expand...

They'll be calling it The Tantric.

Iaculus;402239][QUOTE=Null said:

Yeah, this is definitely a low-intensity, long duration campaign type of vehicle.

Click to expand...

A countermeasure for the zombie uprising? Finally![/QUOTE]

It's about time the military mindset took that shit seriously!

SpecialKO;402389][QUOTE=Iaculus;402239][QUOTE=Null said:

Yeah, this is definitely a low-intensity, long duration campaign type of vehicle.

Click to expand...

A countermeasure for the zombie uprising? Finally![/QUOTE]

It's about time the military mindset took that shit seriously![/QUOTE]

According to the guy who wrote World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide, just about EVERY emergency planner he talked to HAD put thought into it. It's apparently used as a "worst-case-scenario" by some organizations when making plans, because it gets planners to consider options they hadn't before. In inevitably, some of those options make it into REAL disaster plans.

sixpackshaker;401875][QUOTE=SpecialKO said:

Actually seems like an excellent asymmetrical warfare weapon.

Click to expand...

Yes, that is why police departments want them.[/QUOTE]

Officer_Charon said:

I could definitely see some fantastic police applications - I'd idly pondered something similar to this, only I didn't extrapolate it far enough.

Click to expand...

Yessssssss...