1.) Swamp Fox - 04/08/2014

Well, if they do, it won't be futuristic then, will it?

I wonder what about the 27-pound projectile costs $25,000. I guess it's better than a million-dollar missile, but jeez...It's a LOT worse than DP's $22/lb. ribeyes....At least if my math is right...


The video is pretty cool...:wink



[url]http://news.yahoo.com/u-navy-test-futuristic-super-fast-gun-sea-202608368--sector.html?vp=1[/url]

2.) DParker - 04/08/2014

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;18584]Well, if they do, it won't be futuristic then, will it?

I wonder what about the 27-pound projectile costs $25,000.[/quote]

Uncle Sam always pays retail + 10,000%. Well, that and I would imagine that a projectile that comes out of the barrel at mach 7 and is intended to accurately hit a target up to 100 miles away needs to have a material composition of extraordinarily consistent density, and machined to some fairly exacting dimensional specifications.

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;18584]I guess it's better than a million-dollar missile, but jeez...It's a LOT worse than DP's $22/lb. ribeyes[/quote]

And not nearly as tasty, I would think. That said, you might be onto something there. It seems like we could more cost-effectively conquer someplace like North Korea by catapulting meat and other groceries into the country.

3.) bluecat - 04/08/2014

[QUOTE=DParker;18588]

And not nearly as tasty, I would think. That said, you might be onto something there. It seems like we could more cost-effectively conquer someplace like North Korea by catapulting meat and other groceries into the country.[/QUOTE]

:wink:wink

4.) Swamp Fox - 04/08/2014

Well-played, sir!

Well-played!


:laugh:

5.) Swamp Fox - 04/08/2014

Oh, and it's a [B]23[/B]-pound projectile for $25,000, not 27-pounds as I brain-farted above.

So obviously it has a higher unobtainium content than I first thought, and we will need to develop a more efficient cow-catapult if we don't want the Catapult Corps to feel like we're throwing them over (so to speak) for the Fighting Electricians of the First Rail Gun Command...

6.) Bob Peck - 04/08/2014

It's moments like this that I'm extra proud to be an American no matter the cost.

7.) DParker - 04/08/2014

[QUOTE=Bob Peck;18594]It's moments like this that I'm extra proud to be an American no matter the cost.[/QUOTE]

For an extra $5K I bet they'd even engrave your name on one.

8.) Bob Peck - 04/09/2014

[QUOTE=DParker;18597]For an extra $5K I bet they'd even engrave your name on one.[/QUOTE]

I'm in as long as the final destination is Tehran, Pyongyang or Moscow.

9.) Jon - 04/10/2014

Sounds to me like it doesn't need any warhead, just metal. The sheer speed of the thing does the damage, no explosion needed? That's technology my man.

Only use is against incoming missles or maybe aircraft, wouldn't do much good to lob one of these into Moscow, just leave a hole in the ground.

10.) Swamp Fox - 04/10/2014

[QUOTE=Jon;18650]Sounds to me like it doesn't need any warhead, just metal. The sheer speed of the thing does the damage, no explosion needed?...[/QUOTE]

That's what I got out of it, too...The hole in those metal plates was impressive...And it doesn't look like there are any blades that could fail to open, :wink LOL...

11.) Bob Peck - 04/10/2014

[I][/I][QUOTE=Jon;18650]Only use is against incoming missles or maybe aircraft, wouldn't do much good to lob one of these into Moscow, just leave a hole in the ground.[/QUOTE] Well how about say ... ah ... a tank maybe? [ATTACH=CONFIG]416[/ATTACH]

12.) DParker - 04/10/2014

Yep, classic kinetic energy weapon...of a type long speculated on by many a sci-fi writer. One of the most clever ideas for that I recall from a book I read many years ago was a swarm of cheap metal rods, each with a simple, tiny (and also cheap) booster rocket (not much more than you'd use for a hobbyist's model rocket) and some sort of relatively-cheap JDAM-type guidance fins attached. The rods would be boosted into geosynchronous orbit en masse (as shuttle payload, or maybe atop a more ordinary rock) over an enemy target area, and when they piss you off you send GPS coordinates to the swarm's guidance attachments, which would fire the little rockets to begin their decent, with gravity taking over from there. Once the atmosphere is hit the guidance fins (which would need to be heat-resistant, of course) would make any minor steering adjustments to point the rods at the target, which would have so much kinetic energy by the time they hit that it would be as though they were explosive warhead-equipped missiles.

13.) Swamp Fox - 04/10/2014

[B]Old school, baby![/B]


[url]http://rt.com/news/ukraine-catapult-protesters-arming-903/[/url]

14.) DParker - 04/10/2014

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;18658][B]Old school, baby![/B]


[url]http://rt.com/news/ukraine-catapult-protesters-arming-903/[/url][/QUOTE]

They all watched [I]Pulp Fiction[/I] and decided to go medieval on the government's ass.

15.) Swamp Fox - 04/10/2014

Some Dem is working on legislation to require smart catapults right now...