• absentbird@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Missiles that intercept other missiles are defensive. That’s their entire function. Imo that’s the only missiles we should make, and we should give them to both sides.

      • absentbird@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        What are we talking about? Israel shot down flight 114 with a fighter jet.

        Both patriot missiles and the iron dome are specifically for intercepting missiles, though Israel stopped using patriots last year. The iron dome only works on unguided projectiles, while the patriot system is capable of hitting drones and guided missiles.

        The only time a patriot missile has taken down a plane, at least in my memory, is that spy plane over Ukraine, but that is a very impressive outlier.

        • remon@ani.social
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          2 months ago

          What are we talking about?

          The fact that you can use air defense systems to shoot down airliners, which I’d argue doesn’t exactly count as “defensive” use.

          Both patriot missiles and the iron dome are specifically for intercepting missiles

          Not really. Patriot is a general anti-air defense system and Iron dome is also designed to intercept artillery shells. Missiles are just the most common things to intercept.

          • absentbird@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            An artillery shell is a ballistic missile.

            A patriot missile can shoot down an airplane, but they have never been used against airliners. I don’t think the iron dome has ever even been deployed against aircraft.

            • remon@ani.social
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              2 months ago

              An artillery shell is a ballistic missile.

              No, missiles have a motor.

              A patriot missile can shoot down an airplane, but they have never been used against airliners. I don’t think the iron dome has ever even been deployed against aircraft.

              Not am I aware of, no.

              • absentbird@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Maybe there’s some military specifics I don’t understand, but ballistic basically means unguided, and a missile is either a self propelled projectile or a forcibly propelled projectile. Wouldn’t that include artillery? Like an arrow can be called a missile, that’s where the term comes from.

                  • absentbird@lemmy.world
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                    2 months ago

                    It can historically refer to any weapon which is shot or propelled towards a target; slings, arrows, magic missile, etc. but I guess that would be confusing with all the modern ordinance in use.

      • absentbird@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Maybe I’m jaded, but I feel like Israel would use any deaths caused by rockets to bomb even more.

        The idea that more dead civilians is the key to fewer dead civilians just seems backwards. Every totalitarian regime I’m familiar with revels in the pain inflicted on innocents, just look at how they treat the October 7th victims. It’s almost like Netanyahu was waiting for an excuse to go full tilt.

        I have very little knowledge of how the Israeli culture/government works, but I did live through the Bush era, and I can only imagine that additional terrorist attacks would have been a boon to the occupation efforts.

        They lean hard on any tragedy, always pushing for more violence. The voters often fall for it, every tragedy allows them to seize more control and justify their unhinged behavior.

        There’s almost a symbiotic relationship between stochastic violence against civilians and rising fascism, each step twists the ratchet tighter and tighter.