I might not be in the right place, so please direct me to the right forum

[housecat]

About how much does a Russian or Iranian drone cost, and how much does it cost to shoot one down. I could be wrong, but I am thinking the American weapon that shoots the drone is very expensive and might be overkill for a cheap drone

Happy New Year!

[femmedem]

1. I don't know how expenseive the drone is, but the damage the drones cause is incalculable.

The damage to infrastructure, buildings and human lives is certainly worth preventing.

Happy New Year to you, too, housecat.

(This is probably a general discussion forum question.)

[housecat]

12. No question that the cost of saving lives and cities is small compared to the benefit.

Whatever it takes to stop this horrific invasion and aave a nation must be done. However, I believe it can be done more efficiently, with weapons that do the job and are less costly.

(Thanks, I will look at the general discussion forum. I'm new here)

[Atticus]

2. Isn't the question "What are several more innocent Ukrainian civilian lives worth?" rather than

"How much does a Russian drone cost?"

[housecat]

13. Every Ukranian life -- civilian, military, visitor--is invaluable. My question is simply can it

be done better. Can we send Ukraine good drone killing missiles that are less costly, so Ukrainians can use more of them to shoot down more drones. I am concerned that some Republican nitwits will use the new Congress to cut costs.

[Ocelot II]

3. Combat drones are not cheap. They are not anything like those little hobby or photo drones;

they are pretty big, some the size of manned airplanes; they carry weapons and contain sophisticated electronics, and can cost millions. The cost of shooting them down is balanced against the significant danger they pose.

[housecat]

14. From what I understand, Iranian drones are less sophisticated and less costly than American-made.

I believe they can be shot down by missiles that cost less than the ones you speak of.

[Goonch]

4. Russia is on the "winning side" of the "cost imposition curve,"

- since the Shahed-series drones appear to cost about $20,000 each, whereas air-to-air missiles or ground-based interceptors cost between $400,000 and $1.2 million each. The Shahed 129 is capable of combat and reconnaissance missions and has an endurance of 24 hours; it is similar in size, shape and role to the American MQ-1 Predator drone.

[Ocelot II]

5. The cost of shooting them down is balanced against the amount of damage they can do,

not the cost of the drones themselves.

[Goonch]

6. Financial toll on Ukraine of downing drones 'vastly exceeds Russian costs'

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/19/financial-toll-ukraine-downing-drones-vastly-exceeds-russia-costs

[Ocelot II]

7. By costs I mean civilian deaths and property damage, not just the financial costs

of missiles v. drones. Evidently the Ukrainians think it's worth spending more money to shoot down the drones to protect their citizens and cities. How much are those lives worth?

[housecat]

10. Absolutelty! But there are misseles and there are missiles able to do the job

Last edited Sun Jan 1, 2023, 10:13 PM - Edit history (1)

It is not a question of what a life is worth; it is a question of intercepting drones with a missile that is less costly. The money is also tied to the new Congress and the nitwits who shoot before even looking at a target (bad metaphor). We need to get more bang for the bucks (sorry about that).

[housecat]

9. Of course! But I'd rather have many that can do the job than fewer that also cost more

[housecat]

11. Thank you. That is what I wanted to know.

[housecat]

15. Thank you Goonch. You answered my question. I wasn't suggesting that we withhold necessary missiles,

just that we use less expensive ones.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. Planted demoralizing meme?

[housecat]

16. What does that mean?