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dinfinitytoday at 1:54 AM2 repliesview on HN

That's like equating a cruise missile with an aerial drone (which is nonsensical).

Now I'm not saying defense against UUVs is impossible, but plenty of defenses against torpedoes don't work against them.

Note also that part of the approach of drone warfare is sheer quantity. Stopping 1 may be trivial, stopping 5 may be doable, but stopping 20 simultaneous ones might already be too hard to do consistently and repeatedly.


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jandrewrogerstoday at 2:30 AM

A drone of this type and a cruise missile are literally the same type of thing, they just occupy different points on the capability spectrum.

You assert "plenty of defenses against torpedoes don't work against [UUV]". Based on what? What is this hypothetical property of a UUV that is superior to a torpedo?

A UUV with sufficient range and warhead is going to be big and heavy. Long-range torpedos weigh 2 tons each for a good reason. Calling something a "drone" or "UUV" does not imbue it with magic physics. It still has to cross some long span of water with enough speed and a large enough warhead and a guidance package capable of finding the target.

What kind of vessel are you going to use to bring these UUV within range of the target? 20 torpedos would be almost the entire magazine depth of an attack submarine. Surface combat ships carry even fewer.

You seem to be ignoring all evidence from how modern naval systems actually work when discussing your hypothetical UUVs.

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wredcolltoday at 2:17 AM

And what platform do you imagine is launching these dozens of torp-- drones?

This is the thing everyone fails to understand about carrier warfare: anything you can use to attack the carrier can be outranged by the carrier because it can just employ the same weapons but from airplanes that fly closer to you.

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