alt Hacker NewsThe conversation goes as follows:
- Reusable/non-reusable
- Cost/range
The machine gun and laser are illustrative examples. I offered a cheaper short range missile as an option too, if those two bother you.
At some point, I believed you got carried away by specific details about aerodynamics and laser payload (you are probably right!), but are ultimately irrelevant for the progression of the conversation: if you are closer, you can use a cheaper weapon.
It's normal to get carried away (I do it all the time), and I'm fine with having my comments broken down and dissected. However, there are aspects of what I said that weren't answered, so they still stand.
When regular F-22s were already used to shoot down Chinese spy balloons they employed AIM-9 missiles, which are cheaper than AIM-120. But there's no need to get particularly close: in fact for safety they want to remain well separated from the target and never get on a collision course.
But in general all of your comments here have been deeply uninformed about how this stuff actually works.