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The Great State of New Jersey

 SilverMK2 wrote:
 Seaward wrote:
We haven't seen the last conventional major powers war the world will ever know.


The threat of a "conventional major powers war" is a bit of a weak excuse for ploughing multiple billions into a high speed spy plane.


Well, as it turns out, there have been several instances in the War on Terror (Afghanistan) where the SR-71, had it still been in service, would have been the go-to platform, due to its speed, altitude, and the optics package it carried, it really hasn't been surpassed as an ISR platform by anything in the current known USAF inventory.

As for the article itself, I was ready to say "Where do I sign up?" but then I realized its frackin' unmanned! >.<

CoALabaer wrote:
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 Seaward wrote:
 SilverMK2 wrote:
The threat of a "conventional major powers war" is a bit of a weak excuse for ploughing multiple billions into a high speed spy plane.

Then Britain should do what it did with naval aviation and just not pursue it anymore.


I guess not everyone can afford to throw away vast sums of money on toys for their armed forces. Don't get me wrong, soldiers etc should be equipped well, but the USA just goes OTT on overpriced shiny stuff.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
chaos0xomega wrote:
Well, as it turns out, there have been several instances in the War on Terror (Afghanistan) where the SR-71, had it still been in service, would have been the go-to platform, due to its speed, altitude, and the optics package it carried, it really hasn't been surpassed as an ISR platform by anything in the current known USAF inventory.

As for the article itself, I was ready to say "Where do I sign up?" but then I realized its frackin' unmanned! >.<


And for the price of one and its support equipment, you could have a fleet of long endurance drones overflying the place.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/04 18:17:47


   
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 SilverMK2 wrote:
And for the price of one and its support equipment, you could have a fleet of long endurance drones overflying the place.

Assuming you had nearby bases, and didn't need them there in a hurry.
   
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 Seaward wrote:
Assuming you had nearby bases, and didn't need them there in a hurry.


Don't you guys have bases pretty much everywhere, and more carriers than the rest of the world combined?

   
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 SilverMK2 wrote:
Don't you guys have bases pretty much everywhere, and more carriers than the rest of the world combined?

The X-47B isn't operational yet. Carriers also don't quite make it to Mach 6, believe it or not.
   
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I'd guess they have North Korea in mind with stuff like this.

   
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 Seaward wrote:
Carriers also don't quite make it to Mach 6, believe it or not.


Clearly you are not spending enough money yet

   
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 SilverMK2 wrote:
Clearly you are not spending enough money yet

I'm with you there.
   
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 Manchu wrote:
I'd guess they have North Korea in mind with stuff like this.


With ABMs all over the place, it was a matter of time until the major powers resurrected the strategic bomber. Besides, this thing looks like its powered by some sort of ramjet. Maybe it can be used as an antisatellite platform, too..


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 Seaward wrote:
We haven't seen the last conventional major powers war the world will ever know.


Naaah. Deterrence is key here. This is a weapon for a foreseeable future in which ICBMs have been rendered obsolete.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/04 23:12:25




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 Manchu wrote:
I'd guess they have North Korea in mind with stuff like this.


More like Georgia or Mali, flashpoints that can turn into major conflicts suddenly put aren't constantly monitored like North Korea and Pakistan

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 generalgrog wrote:
I don't mind the research I guess, but not sure if we need to make more than 1 or 2.

At Mach 6, or 4,500 MPH, they can be anywhere in under 3 hours.
At top speed, it can get around the Earth in 6 hours.
So, you only ever really need 2 of them, at most.

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What I found impressive is that as well as being an ISR bird it will also be a strike platform. The ability to project power anywhere on the planet in little over three hours is not to be sniffed at.

 
   
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 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
What I found impressive is that as well as being an ISR bird it will also be a strike platform. The ability to project power anywhere on the planet in little over three hours is not to be sniffed at.


Hmm.... Time for me to invest in an Anti Missile System, an ECM suite and most importantly of all: a tinfoil hat. KEEP YOUR DAMN MIND-RAYS OF ME DAMMIT!

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 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
What I found impressive is that as well as being an ISR bird it will also be a strike platform. The ability to project power anywhere on the planet in little over three hours is not to be sniffed at.



They already have that


It's called an ICBM

Now That I've Said it, It Must Be Canon


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 Senden wrote:
 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
What I found impressive is that as well as being an ISR bird it will also be a strike platform. The ability to project power anywhere on the planet in little over three hours is not to be sniffed at.



They already have that


It's called an ICBM

ICBM can theoretically be shot down and it's easily telegraphed.

Having a bird that you cannot see, drop munitions anywhere in the world is still nuthin to sneeze at.

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 Senden wrote:
 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
What I found impressive is that as well as being an ISR bird it will also be a strike platform. The ability to project power anywhere on the planet in little over three hours is not to be sniffed at.



They already have that


It's called an ICBM

ICBM's can now capture intelligence? Do not have a large, easily tracked signature upon launch? Are inventory items that other nations know the capabilities and limitations of?

 
   
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Dreadclaw69 wrote:ICBM's can now capture intelligence? Do not have a large, easily tracked signature upon launch? Are inventory items that other nations know the capabilities and limitations of?


I was referring to the strike capacity, they don't have to be nuclear anymore, the guidance system is now precise enough to use conventional explosives

Dreadclaw69 wrote:ICBM can theoretically be shot down and it's easily telegraphed.

Having a bird that you cannot see, drop munitions anywhere in the world is still nuthin to sneeze at.


Do you seriously believe that installing radar absorbent coating over the launch vehicle something that hasn't been done already?

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 whembly wrote:
ICBM can theoretically be shot down and it's easily telegraphed.


There's no "theoretically" about it. Shooting down ICBMs is a pretty easy problem, we could do it in the 1950s and the only reason we don't have a full-scale ABM system right now is the cost and political issues.

Having a bird that you cannot see, drop munitions anywhere in the world is still nuthin to sneeze at.


This is not a stealth plane. Do all the radar tricks you want with it, but at mach 6 friction/compression heat alone is more than enough to spot it. Of course shooting at it is a much more difficult problem, as the SR-71 demonstrated at half the speed.

 Senden wrote:
I was referring to the strike capacity, they don't have to be nuclear anymore, the guidance system is now precise enough to use conventional explosives


You know what they call using ICBMs for anything other than starting WWIII and telling everyone "no really, trust us, this one isn't a nuke"? Suicidal stupidity.

 Skinnereal wrote:
At Mach 6, or 4,500 MPH, they can be anywhere in under 3 hours.


Not necessarily. It might have a top speed of 4500 MPH, but how much fuel can it carry? If you've only got 15 minutes at mach 6 you've got a lot of speed to get through AA defenses and hit a target, but not even close to enough to go anywhere in the world.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/11/06 09:48:21


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 Peregrine wrote:

 Skinnereal wrote:
At Mach 6, or 4,500 MPH, they can be anywhere in under 3 hours.


Not necessarily. It might have a top speed of 4500 MPH, but how much fuel can it carry? If you've only got 15 minutes at mach 6 you've got a lot of speed to get through AA defenses and hit a target, but not even close to enough to go anywhere in the world.


Small nitpick: 2040 m/s (4500 MPH) is about Mach 6 at sea level and that's where this plane will never reach Mach 6 as the air is too dense (and turbulent?) there. At 12 km height it's "only" 1770 m/s (3960 MPH).
   
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 Senden wrote:
I was referring to the strike capacity, they don't have to be nuclear anymore, the guidance system is now precise enough to use conventional explosives

And with everyone being accustomed to ICBM = nuclear strike we all may get a lesson in MAD.

 Senden wrote:
Do you seriously believe that installing radar absorbent coating over the launch vehicle something that hasn't been done already?

Sure. But it is pretty hard to disguise the heat signature generated during the initial launch. That and other foreign military forces have been working on detecting ICBM launches and preparation since the Cold War. Don't forget that with the launch vehicle comes a series of support vehicles, ground defense units, etc. and the build up to an ICBM launch can be detected

 
   
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If coatings alone were enough to make something VLO, everybody'd have stealth aircraft. They might be a T-6 Texan, but they'd have 'em.
   
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You spend all that money on ICBM's and don't even use them...

   
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 SilverMK2 wrote:
You spend all that money on ICBM's and don't even use them...

Who said we don't?

We launch our satellites with 'em.

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 SilverMK2 wrote:
You spend all that money on ICBM's and don't even use them...

The whole point is that we have them hoping we'll never need them. That's sort of the principal behind MAD

 
   
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 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
The whole point is that we have them hoping we'll never need them. That's sort of the principal behind MAD


But why spend the money? Just let people know you have the stuff then syphon the rest of the money you "spent" on "WMD's" off to pay for something important, like education

   
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 SilverMK2 wrote:
 Dreadclaw69 wrote:
The whole point is that we have them hoping we'll never need them. That's sort of the principal behind MAD


But why spend the money? Just let people know you have the stuff then syphon the rest of the money you "spent" on "WMD's" off to pay for something important, like education

Because we can't keep a secret!

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 SilverMK2 wrote:
But why spend the money? Just let people know you have the stuff then syphon the rest of the money you "spent" on "WMD's" off to pay for something important, like education

You know that unilaterally decommissioning ICBMs sort of negates a lot of the MAD doctrine, right? The stockpiles could probably be reduced (but not likely to happen without a reciprocal agreement), and older munitions phased out, but for now ICBMs and MAD are genies that won't go back into the bottle. Especially with other nations seeking them, and the associated effects on the international stage.


 whembly wrote:
Because we can't keep a secret!

Thanks Snowden

 
   
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Meh.

I've seen better concept art.


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