Oh yes, I’m sure we love it when they do that... especially when they forget to put them in training mode first...

While China is a nuclear power, they aren’t like Russia. Our current ABM capabilities could probably handle most of what they can throw at us. The only problem would be if Russia got involved. Under the current climate, I can’t see Russia wanting to back China in these circumstances. They would likely condemn both…

The guns don’t have unlimited ammunition either. Additionally, the 5 inch guns on the AB class ships have the range to handle that little man-made island.

Japan can just build a giant, transforming, seafaring robot and station it next to the island. That’s what I’d like to see...

The US has won nearly ALL of them in the past 50 years. The Gulf war... no contest. Afghanistan... Military destroyed and government replaced. Iraq in 2003, steamrolled and government replaced.

Agreed, I’ve been reading a lot about Praying Mantis lately. Though... that was under Reagan and not the current administration. If you noticed, the International Courts chastised the US for “overreacting” with Praying Mantis.

This is “If you don’t exercise your rights, you lose them” at its finest. The US has been sailing around challenging arbitrary border re-definitions for a very long time. Just like Libya’s “line of death” and Iran with the straight of Hormuz.

Sad part is the missile was probably worth 100X what the drone was. At least.

Or laser-guided mortars... Designate with a drone and pop one off without even having to get line-of-sight!

Really not the same thing at all. You are suggesting a company branch out into a completely new field for them. Leap into an industry they aren’t currently in and try to outdo companies that have been in that for years.

Very old trick. They were on to that one a long time ago. If you do that now the officer will hand them to you and you will just look silly.

Sadly an old legend. The real figure is closer to 50% the power of 1 engine. If the plane is nearly empty and near stall speed already that might be true. However, a plane loaded with 8 tons of weapons will have more than enough inertia.

I shudder to think what 70 caseless rounds a second from a 30mm would do to the barrel fouling-wise. GAU-8 was designed to cycle those cases back into the drum, and would need MAJOR redesign or complete replacement to operate caseless.

Not quite. Mavericks are no good against a bunch of “yahoos” hiding in a tree line. They are good for vehicles or harder targets, but they are a waste for providing CAS against unarmored troops. Hellfires are better in this respect but still overkill compared with cannon fire. The GAU-8/A is very effective against…

A Fairchild Republic plant was located there and used to build them if I recall. I am guessing the ones flying over were probably brand new just-off-the-line A-10s on their way to new homes.

^ This. A Turboprop plane has never been considered a jet in any sense of the word. Most people when they say “Largest gun” will qualify it with “largest automatic gun” though. THAT is the most impressive part. 65-70 rounds per second of that size, and at a high muzzle velocity. Most larger calibers (other 30mm) are…

I am pretty sure the troops those infantry are attacking wouldn’t think it was overkill. If taking out that infantry is important to the mission then it’s not overkill at all. If it saves lives of our troops, even better.

You are free to feel that way if you want. But for the rest of us, these are systems that a lot of smart people put together pushing the boundaries of technology to defend us. I would hope you wouldn’t avert your eyes or look with sadness or disdain on soldiers returning from war. Nobody really likes the result of…

These days we’d likely have cluster-bombed the beach a few dozen times to clear any resistance before they start the landing. Air power has advanced to the point we could obliterate most beach defenses before setting foot ashore.

A lot of bomber crews used to be trained for celestial navigation as well, and in fact early nuclear cruise missiles had star-tracking computers in them to find their targets over long ranges.