Is this right? Wiki says this bomb costs $3100...

[norseamd]

I like how they're called general purpose, it makes it sound like it's a consumer product you can just pickup at Walmart in the cleaning aisle. "For those really really tough stains!"

It's probably more like 500k once it's in the government's hands though. Everything turns more expensive, it's how they siphon money to fund top secret projects that even the president can't know about.

That is not why they are called general purpose.

 

[JTsyo]

This is why the defense industry is trying to move away from naval artillery to missiles. The main guns of battleships are cheap to fire and provide enormous firepower.

I guess compared to missiles they are cheap but the 16" shells were about $30K per round. The main reason, they moved away from battleships is range. About the only thing left for them is support bombardment.

 

[Gibsons]

I guess compared to missiles they are cheap but the 16" shells were about $30K per round. The main reason, they moved away from battleships is range. About the only thing left for them is support bombardment.

Well, there's also the cost of the battleship and the 2500 people you need to put on it.

 

[Ns1]

I got into a little fit of looking up prices for various armaments earlier. It's crazy how expensive some of this shit is.

Example: F/A-18 Super Hornet. A cool sixty million, which probably isn't that surprising. But still nuts.

What seemed crazy: As few as six guided missiles strapped to the underside of it can potentially cost almost ten million dollars.

for massive lulz go to the F-22 wiki, then go to the F-35 wiki.

 

[Jeff7]

That is not why they are called general purpose.

They honor General Stephen H. Purpose, who was killed in action during WWI.

 

[deadlyapp]

They honor General Stephen H. Purpose, who was killed in action during WWI.

:hmm:

 

[phucheneh]

for massive lulz go to the F-22 wiki, then go to the F-35 wiki.

D:

Both around 150 million a piece, apparently. But the truly staggering number is the F-35 'projected program cost' as a whole: >1 trillion.

For jets we don't need. Even if you assume it would cost something absurd like, say, 100 billion dollars to maintain our current fighters...the amount saved would still be negligibly close to said trillion bucks.

As an average, the F-35 is costing every American over three thousand dollars.

 

[Train]

This is why the defense industry is trying to move away from naval artillery to missiles. The main guns of battleships are cheap to fire and provide enormous firepower.

Or the fact that we are ~20 years removed from even having a battleship.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

This is why the defense industry is trying to move away from naval artillery to missiles. The main guns of battleships are cheap to fire and provide enormous firepower.

This comment might ahve been relevant in 1960.

A battleship hasn't been relevant since 1945. And even then it was being quickly phased out.

 

[edro]

The Mark 84 is capable of forming a crater 50 feet (15.2 m) wide and 36 ft (11.0 m) deep. It can penetrate up to 15 inches (381.0 mm) of metal or 11 ft (3.4 m) of concrete, depending on the height from which it is dropped, and causes lethal fragmentation to a radius of 400 yards (365.8 m).

Wow!

Best bang for the buck!

 

[preslove]

Those are also fitted with guidance systems which cost even more. Anyone know how much a JDAM costs?

 

[JTsyo]

Wow!

Best bang for the buck!

If you can get it to land in that 400 meters from the target. Dropping a dumb bomb from 30K ft will give you a very large dispersion. Though if you don't care what you hit, it's cheaper to drop 250 of these than fire a cruise missile.

 

[preslove]

If you can get it to land in that 400 meters from the target. Dropping a dumb bomb from 30K ft will give you a very large dispersion. Though if you don't care what you hit, it's cheaper to drop 250 of these than fire a cruise missile.

I'd assume that just fitting one of these with a JDAM would be cheaper and more effective than a cruise missile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition

 

[Broheim]

I'd assume that just fitting one of these with a JDAM would be cheaper and more effective than a cruise missile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition

it would in a lot of cases, but those are not the usecases for cruise missiles.

A cruise missile is a standoff weapon, these have to be dropped close to the target. So in a high threat scenario a $1mil missile is preferable to a $30K JDAM, ~$100mil airframe and one very expensive pilot.

 

[norseamd]

for massive lulz go to the F-22 wiki, then go to the F-35 wiki.

And that is how you know what the F-35 program is all about considering the F-22 is worth far more.

 

[MongGrel]

This is why the defense industry is trying to move away from naval artillery to missiles. The main guns of battleships are cheap to fire and provide enormous firepower.

Trying to ?

They did that many, many years ago.

Most things even fired off a Naval vessel these days would be TLAMs.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TLAM

 

[MongGrel]

That is not why they are called general purpose.

You seem to be several decades out of date on many things you post.

 

[norseamd]

Trying to ?

They did that many, many years ago.

Most things even fired off a Naval vessel these days would be TLAMMs

Even without the battleships consider the frigates and destroyers. They all use 5 inch guns and they never finished that 8 inch gun prototype from the 70s. They want to move from the 5 inch guns to land based 155 mm artillery.

The real example of this was the arsenal ship which would have had nothing but expensive missiles which would add up to a lot of fucking cash.

 

[norseamd]

You seem to be several decades out of date on many things you post.

Your post seems to have no relevance to mine.

 

[MongGrel]

Your post seems to have no relevance to mine.

Then your as clueless as you usually are in the political discussions and explains and lot.

 

[Gibsons]

 

[Captante]

I'm too afraid to click that link, that will probably put my IP address on the NSA radar..

I'm afraid its a little too late for that!