Now there is overkill and there is overkill, but this takes it to a new level
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Now there is overkill and there is overkill, but this takes it to a new level
Small drone 'shot with Patriot missile' - BBC News
A Patriot missile - usually priced at about $3m (£2.5m) - was used to shoot down a small quadcopter drone, according to a US general.
The strike was made by a US ally, Gen David Perkins told a military symposium.
"That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot," he said.
Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles.
"Now, that worked, they got it, OK, and we love Patriot missiles," the general said.
However, he suggested the strategy was probably not economically wise.
"I'm not sure that's a good economic exchange ratio," he told an audience at the Association of the United States Army's Global Force symposium in Alabama.
"In fact, if I'm the enemy, I'm thinking, 'Hey, I'm just gonna get on eBay and buy as many of these $300 quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there'."
'Enormous overkill'
No further details of the encounter - such as how recently it took place - were given, but Gen Perkins did describe the party that launched the missile as "a very close ally".
"It is clearly enormous overkill," said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute.
"It certainly exposes in very stark terms the challenge which militaries face in attempting to deal with the adaptation of cheap and readily available civilian technology with extremely expensive, high-end hardware designed for state-on-state warfare."
Mr Bronk also told the BBC that Patriot radar systems, while sophisticated, might struggle to target a small quadcopter effectively.
Patriot missiles were first produced in 1980 and are operated by 12 countries including the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The missiles themselves travel at five times the speed of sound, whereas a quadcopter drone typically has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h).
The strike was made by a US ally, Gen David Perkins told a military symposium.
"That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot," he said.
Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles.
"Now, that worked, they got it, OK, and we love Patriot missiles," the general said.
However, he suggested the strategy was probably not economically wise.
"I'm not sure that's a good economic exchange ratio," he told an audience at the Association of the United States Army's Global Force symposium in Alabama.
"In fact, if I'm the enemy, I'm thinking, 'Hey, I'm just gonna get on eBay and buy as many of these $300 quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there'."
'Enormous overkill'
No further details of the encounter - such as how recently it took place - were given, but Gen Perkins did describe the party that launched the missile as "a very close ally".
"It is clearly enormous overkill," said Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute.
"It certainly exposes in very stark terms the challenge which militaries face in attempting to deal with the adaptation of cheap and readily available civilian technology with extremely expensive, high-end hardware designed for state-on-state warfare."
Mr Bronk also told the BBC that Patriot radar systems, while sophisticated, might struggle to target a small quadcopter effectively.
Patriot missiles were first produced in 1980 and are operated by 12 countries including the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The missiles themselves travel at five times the speed of sound, whereas a quadcopter drone typically has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h).
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Beat you to it, I had already amended the title 
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Of course a $300 drone can target something of far greater value.
There are lots of other asymmetric targeting examples such as a PW from a Typhoon against a Toyota or a mud hut.
There are lots of other asymmetric targeting examples such as a PW from a Typhoon against a Toyota or a mud hut.
I actually don't believe the story at all, for that very reason. I don't actually know, but I would be surprised if the Radar system was configured to acquire a target that small and slow.
PDR
PDR
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Oddly enough shotguns are not far from the truth
Anti-drone net launcher can down a quadcopter from 100 metres | WIRED UK
of as in Japan
Tokyo police are using drones with nets to catch other drones
Anti-drone net launcher can down a quadcopter from 100 metres | WIRED UK
of as in Japan
Tokyo police are using drones with nets to catch other drones
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Sounds like something NK would do! Or was it SK knocking out a NK $200 major attack??
You gotta watch out for those $200 Chinese quad drones, they're downright dangerous; the sooner they're seriously disabled, the better!!
You gotta watch out for those $200 Chinese quad drones, they're downright dangerous; the sooner they're seriously disabled, the better!!
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Patriot has a faster reaction time than a drone interceptor and a bit of additional overtake 
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Surely you just jam the signal between the operator and the drone and it crashes. I have heard that this has been done in the UK? Not legal to use the kit in this country but............
Surely you just jam the signal between the operator and the drone and it crashes.
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There are lots of other asymmetric targeting examples such as a PW from a Typhoon against a Toyota
In all seriousness, Toyota must be making a lot of money out of these conflicts.
Maybe Bae should start making (relatively cheap) pick up trucks.
Last edited by gr4techie; 17th Mar 2017 at 14:29.
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I don't know, the warranty claims must be horrendous...
"No, honest guv, the truck bed fell apart all on its own, and I swear we never had an Anti Aircraft gun operating in the back."
"No, honest guv, the truck bed fell apart all on its own, and I swear we never had an Anti Aircraft gun operating in the back."
You're not the only one who's wondered that, gr4techie -
U.S. seeks answers from Toyota after carmaker's trucks appear in ISIS videos | Daily Mail Online
US Officials Ask How ISIS Got So Many Toyota Trucks - ABC News
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/10/u...tted-in-videos
U.S. seeks answers from Toyota after carmaker's trucks appear in ISIS videos | Daily Mail Online
US Officials Ask How ISIS Got So Many Toyota Trucks - ABC News
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/10/u...tted-in-videos
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
Obviously from an adjacent friendly state with a good sea port, or does Iran make them under licence?