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Indirect Fires Modernization Project - C3/M777 Replacement
- Thread starter MattGotts
- Start date
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Pentagon wants mobile launchers to test missile defense systems
America's missile defense testing program has a logistics problem, and the Pentagon wants industry to solve it: the Missile Defense Agency, the organization responsible for developing and testing America's shield against ballistic missile attack, has issued a formal solicitation seeking
defence-blog.com
This seems incredibly silly to me. Why is the US dropping target missiles from C17s to test their Air Defense systems? Why are they looking for a new dedicated launcher for the target missiles?
Why aren't they launching targets from existing batteries and ships at existing batteries and ships? Pitch and Catch.
And if they are going this route why not just add the target missile to the families of missiles being considered for the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher program?
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Because we have specific threat metrics.Pentagon wants mobile launchers to test missile defense systems
America's missile defense testing program has a logistics problem, and the Pentagon wants industry to solve it: the Missile Defense Agency, the organization responsible for developing and testing America's shield against ballistic missile attack, has issued a formal solicitation seeking
This seems incredibly silly to me. Why is the US dropping target missiles from C17s to test their Air Defense systems? Why are they looking for a new dedicated launcher for the target missiles?
Why aren't they launching targets from existing batteries and ships at existing batteries and ships? Pitch and Catch.
And if they are going this route why not just add the target missile to the families of missiles being considered for the Common Autonomous Multi-Domain Launcher program?
We don’t design o defend against our missiles - but enemy/rival systems.
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The Russians are dropping missiles from C17s?
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Towed Bohdan with drone protection
en.defence-ua.com
Ukrainian Bohdana-B Towed Howitzer Receives Extra Drone Protection to Cover Vulnerable Section | Defense Express
Towed artillery remains an effective battlefield weapon, and an interesting solution has been developed to protect one of the vulnerable sections of the Ukrainian 155-mm 2P22 Bohdana-BG howitzer
en.defence-ua.com
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Wonder if that has any effect on barrel harmonics?
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France 1er RIMa Unveils FPV Attack Drone Unit to Boost Frontline Precision Strike Capability
France's 1er RIMa unveils a new FPV attack drone unit to strengthen frontline precision strikes and expand the French Army's modern combat capabilities.
www.armyrecognition.com
French Marines
3 Ford Rangers
6 Boxes (2x3)
60 FPVs (2x3x10)
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“We’re just killing people left and right.”
3rd Inf Div, 2nd ABCT, 8th Cav Rgt, 6th Sqn, Launched Effects Platoon - 2 days, 60 11ACR Blackhorse vehicles destroyed with Switchblade 600s.
"FORT IRWIN, Calif. — In the first two days of its battle against Fort Irwin’s dedicated opposing force, Army 1st Lt. William Kaiser’s launched effects platoon had already destroyed 60 enemy vehicles.
"It was the first time the platoon had employed its new kamikaze drones in a major training environment, and Kaiser said it was quickly clear how useful those drones — Switchblade 600s — would be in combat.
"“It can kind of feel like a God-gun, you know,” Kaiser said as his platoon rested between missions on the third day of its fight last month against the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, known as Blackhorse, at the Army’s National Training Center. “We’re just killing people left and right.”
"The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division established Kaiser’s launched effects platoon last year inside its 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment to experiment with kamikaze and first-person-view attack drones as part of the Army’s Transformation in Contact initiative.
Read more on smry.ai: Article from stripes.com.
...
In line with Ukrainian experience
www.defensenews.com
...
Drones vs Artillery
nationalinterest.org
"Casualties from kamikaze drones are now as high as 80 percent for both sides, according to Latvia’s intelligence services. Moreover, in the past five months, Ukrainian kamikaze drones have hit 44,610 Russian troops, killing 24,731 and wounding 19,879, per official Ukrainian military data"
"Artillery Still Has Some Advantages over Drones
"Overall, however, artillery is still deadlier, often more reliable, and cheaper.
"In the same five-month period, the Russian forces have been averaging more than 30,000 casualties killed and wounded per month. Thus, the numbers show that although kamikaze drones are causing significant casualties on the Russian forces, and killing one Russian troop for every other hit, they are not the deadliest weapon on the battlefield right now.
"Notably, the lethality of artillery does not discriminate between sides. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British military think tank, has estimated that approximately 70 percent of Ukrainian casualties are the result of artillery fire. The Russian forces average 10,000 artillery rounds a day, with peaks reaching as high as 36,000 artillery rounds in a single day. Overall, casualties from artillery fire have, at different points in the war, reached as high as 80 percent of the battlefield total.
"Kamikaze drones also have shortcomings on the battlefield. They can be jammed through electronic means, or shot down with a variety of methods. Moreover, unmanned aerial systems cannot operate effectively in poor weather conditions. The Russian forces have sometimes used the weather to their advantage, launching more attacks during heavy rain or snow while Ukrainian drone countermeasures are grounded. Artillery rounds do not have such issues.
"Furthermore, artillery shells are cheaper than drones. Artillery rounds, including the standard 155mm shell, typically cost from $3,000 to $5,000. A single one-way attack unmanned aerial system, however, can cost two or three times that. To be sure, there are kamikaze drones that cost very little, but their capabilities are limited both in terms of range and payload.
"Artillery shells are also deadlier than drones on a pound-for-pound basis. Artillery’s greater firepower and the ability to concentrate that firepower effectively translate into devastating results on the battlefield. An artillery barrage can level an entire area and suppress enemy defensive positions, enabling main battle tanks and mechanized infantry to approach safely. So far, drones are unable to replicate this effect.
"Finally, artillery is simpler than one-way attack unmanned aerial systems. A standard 155mm howitzer round does not rely on complex modern software or electronics, which can malfunction. It will work at any time, under any conditions, with minimal potential for human error. And in the chaos of a war, that reliability is incomparable."
...
I am going to posit an advantage of drones over artillery.
When you are fighting in your neighbourhoods, among your houses and backyards, you are incentivized to limit the damage to the intended target as much as possible.
If you are fighting in someone else's neighbourhood, having a pretext to flatten every house in existence and drive out the locals has its own particular attraction.
3rd Inf Div, 2nd ABCT, 8th Cav Rgt, 6th Sqn, Launched Effects Platoon - 2 days, 60 11ACR Blackhorse vehicles destroyed with Switchblade 600s.
"FORT IRWIN, Calif. — In the first two days of its battle against Fort Irwin’s dedicated opposing force, Army 1st Lt. William Kaiser’s launched effects platoon had already destroyed 60 enemy vehicles.
"It was the first time the platoon had employed its new kamikaze drones in a major training environment, and Kaiser said it was quickly clear how useful those drones — Switchblade 600s — would be in combat.
"“It can kind of feel like a God-gun, you know,” Kaiser said as his platoon rested between missions on the third day of its fight last month against the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, known as Blackhorse, at the Army’s National Training Center. “We’re just killing people left and right.”
"The 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division established Kaiser’s launched effects platoon last year inside its 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment to experiment with kamikaze and first-person-view attack drones as part of the Army’s Transformation in Contact initiative.
Read more on smry.ai: Article from stripes.com.
...
In line with Ukrainian experience
Ukraine says more than 80% of enemy targets now destroyed by drones
One Ukrainian innovation has been a system to verify drone strikes that awards points to successful operators, with an online marketplace for bonus kit.
www.defensenews.com
...
Drones vs Artillery
Have Drones Replaced Artillery in the Ukraine War?
Drones and artillery have emerged as the two major killers of the Ukraine War—and each have their own strengths and drawbacks on the battlefield.
nationalinterest.org
"Casualties from kamikaze drones are now as high as 80 percent for both sides, according to Latvia’s intelligence services. Moreover, in the past five months, Ukrainian kamikaze drones have hit 44,610 Russian troops, killing 24,731 and wounding 19,879, per official Ukrainian military data"
"Artillery Still Has Some Advantages over Drones
"Overall, however, artillery is still deadlier, often more reliable, and cheaper.
"In the same five-month period, the Russian forces have been averaging more than 30,000 casualties killed and wounded per month. Thus, the numbers show that although kamikaze drones are causing significant casualties on the Russian forces, and killing one Russian troop for every other hit, they are not the deadliest weapon on the battlefield right now.
"Notably, the lethality of artillery does not discriminate between sides. The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British military think tank, has estimated that approximately 70 percent of Ukrainian casualties are the result of artillery fire. The Russian forces average 10,000 artillery rounds a day, with peaks reaching as high as 36,000 artillery rounds in a single day. Overall, casualties from artillery fire have, at different points in the war, reached as high as 80 percent of the battlefield total.
"Kamikaze drones also have shortcomings on the battlefield. They can be jammed through electronic means, or shot down with a variety of methods. Moreover, unmanned aerial systems cannot operate effectively in poor weather conditions. The Russian forces have sometimes used the weather to their advantage, launching more attacks during heavy rain or snow while Ukrainian drone countermeasures are grounded. Artillery rounds do not have such issues.
"Furthermore, artillery shells are cheaper than drones. Artillery rounds, including the standard 155mm shell, typically cost from $3,000 to $5,000. A single one-way attack unmanned aerial system, however, can cost two or three times that. To be sure, there are kamikaze drones that cost very little, but their capabilities are limited both in terms of range and payload.
"Artillery shells are also deadlier than drones on a pound-for-pound basis. Artillery’s greater firepower and the ability to concentrate that firepower effectively translate into devastating results on the battlefield. An artillery barrage can level an entire area and suppress enemy defensive positions, enabling main battle tanks and mechanized infantry to approach safely. So far, drones are unable to replicate this effect.
"Finally, artillery is simpler than one-way attack unmanned aerial systems. A standard 155mm howitzer round does not rely on complex modern software or electronics, which can malfunction. It will work at any time, under any conditions, with minimal potential for human error. And in the chaos of a war, that reliability is incomparable."
...
I am going to posit an advantage of drones over artillery.
When you are fighting in your neighbourhoods, among your houses and backyards, you are incentivized to limit the damage to the intended target as much as possible.
If you are fighting in someone else's neighbourhood, having a pretext to flatten every house in existence and drive out the locals has its own particular attraction.