Given the sophistication of western SIGINT and jamming capabilities, and the lack of sophistication of their remote control cars, this probably won’t be much more than a gimmick for them. Assuming, of course, we have the resources to monitor and jam in all the right areas.

Once they get to 1970 they will be on par with the US level of nuclear tech (warhead-wise). Test bans have kept nuclear progress pretty much stuck in 1970, when the latest warhead was developed (the W-88).

Something like this:

We probably already have one of these in the area sniffing it out... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_WC…

I just have one question.... Why so many microphones?? Do they actually have more than one state-run news agency?

This “speck” is larger than aircraft carriers that regularly project power. And China doesn’t want to disrupt THEIR commerce and trade in the area, but that doesn’t mean they can’t make things more difficult for everyone just passing through.

That would be ideal, except China is a permanent member of the UN Security council, meaning they can veto any resolution brought against them. The UN would be absolutely powerless because of this.

Sure, because we don’t trade with anyone in that region, right? We don’t care if their ships can make it to us or about increases in prices as their ships have to go around the territory that used to be International.

Sure, but there is only a single S400 Unit deployed at a known location in Syria. There is no IADS present, at least not one that has been revealed. Raising the radar unit to 300 feet would only add about 23km for a 10,000ft target. This is not even taking into account terrain, which would further reduce the radar…

For a Radar antenna mounted 50 feet off the ground at sea level, an airplane at 10,000 feet ASL would go beyond the radar horizon at about 244km. At 5,000 feet ASL, the number is 177km. This does, in fact, limit the effective range.

You’re assuming it goes top speed all-the-way. Missiles like this are only powered for the beginning of their flight, then they quickly bleed off that speed. More quickly if they have to maneuver. The multi-stage missiles can get going pretty fast, but they still don’t maintain the speed. Toward the outer edges of…

Max range is not the same as optimum engagement envelope. There is a lot more that can be done to defeat a SAM when it is launched from further away. Distance helps mitigate some amount of risk.

I would guess it would cost more to make them non-folding? Re-design, testing, certification. I am only guessing, but even removing features from planes that usually have them already can incur significant costs. If the US had a non-folding wing version, it might make sense to sell them those.

I would imagine it wouldn’t be as cost-effective to build machines to do the work. When your production run is only a couple of thousand air frames total, the cost-benefit equation may not support using robots.

Ok, maybe you learn better with examples. So here’s my last hurrah...

Yeah, industrial capacity is key here, and China has all the ingredients for massive industrial capacity if they can get it together. I keep looking with disappointment at the current situation with the US, Russia, and China... Imagine what we could do for space travel if we weren’t constantly trying to tick each…

I imagine using these for normal operations poses the difficulties of additional sensitive explosives (solid fuel) that are a hazard in the event of a fire onboard, as well as operational tempo limited by the availability of boosters and additional airframe stress (instead of stressing the specifically-designed…

The problem with your analogy is that carrying a pocket knife, a can of mace, a loaded gun, any kind of weapon does not make you more likely to decide to use that level of force to resolve all conflicts. That logic is completely broken and doesn’t work for nukes either. Often, just like with nukes, people end up…

You’ve got no idea what you are talking about. We can never NEVER be 100% safe. There definitely IS a balance between safety/security and freedom. There is also a constant cost for freedom. The fact is, our cost for freedom is much lower today than it has ever been, yet some like you think it is too high. Keep giving…

Oh boy... you’re never going to get it. Anything I can say now is just repeating myself. So just read, re-read, and re-read everything I’ve said previously. I’m done repeating myself for someone that is understanding only 10% of what I am saying due to lack of ability to read context.