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Comment by chmod775 | Hacker News Reader

Ukraine is already using drones that can autonomously identify and seek out even moving targets, without any operator required during the terminal phase.

Drones with that sort of capability started appearing on the battlefield more than a year ago, and it has only been refined since.

Examples are the RAM-2X, the Helsing HX2, and whatever drones they use that automatically identify and seek out stationary aircraft on Russian airfields.

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We've had this capability for years. We have had missiles that could identify a convoy, strike its front and back to block it, and then hit targets inside, all on their own.

The difference is that those missiles are expensive multi-million dollar munitions, while these drones are mass produced for less than $20k/unit and yet are still capable of taking out heavy armor.

Even cheaper if armor is the only goal.

Wrong on the first count (last I saw they were well below $200k a pop), and the second count comes with significant loss of anti-armor capability.

I'd be curious to learn what advanced self-guided missile can accurately strike targets just a measly 70km away for $200k, and what the supporting infrastructure and hardware costs to buy and run.

Also you're still not remotely competetive with drones that can be carried and operated by infantry at that price point. Who's going to do reconaissance so you even know where to strike before you fire that missile? A drone provides all of that in a package that'd still be less than 1/10th the cost.

Okay, now it's obvious you're just posting whatever to "win" a discussion without any familiarity with the subject. I suggest you start educating yourself by familiarising yourself with the Brimstone missiles, 1996 tech in service for over 20 years at this point.

Brimstone meets none of the criteria, not for self-guidance, nor for range (especially not when launched surface-to-surface). Plus you'd have to bring a launch platform within range of Russian air-defense/frontlines to even use it.

First - the munition you quoted does none of the things you indicated it might do a few posts ago, and second - your gasligting people for being 'uninformed' when you've literally just proven yourself wrong with you own quote?

there are quite some american defense strategists, that criticize the dependency on large contractors that have no interest in providing economical capabilities over large government contracts.

No, this is only true in the most limited sense; nobody has because the AI literally has not existed for that until recently. And it's hugely complicated by the fact that we don't know even where a convoy might be, or how to differentiate it from the myriad of other vehicles.

AI today cannot effectively distinguish a 'convoy' from other vehicles on the road.

Many vehicles may not have military markings - it's hard for a human to make the inference.

I'm pretty sure anti ship missiles have known to recognize ship types and steer to weak points for quite some time.

Yes, a hulking mass of steel out on an empty ocean is significantly easier to target than identifying traffic on a road, with occlusion, other traffic, hills, other vehicles etc. Radar alone enough for anti-ship, not for 'convoys' etc..

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