We're the Military and Airpower Guys of Jonah Goldberg of National Review Online + a stray we found wandering around looking lost. All original material JHD, BHD, JR, WT, and KA 2003-2010 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:46:57 Z Movable Type 4.12 en Copyright 2012 http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification CAPT H sends us a link to this article on CTV.ca. Military to buy new shells costing $150,000 each Updated Thu. Nov. 9 2006 11:09 PM ET The Canadian Forces are investing in a new high-tech shell to be used in Afghanistan. But at $150,000 per round, it could be the most expensive ammunition ever fired by the military. "It's like shooting a Ferrari every time you use one of these things," Steve Staples of the Polaris Institute told CTV News on Thursday. "These are incredibly expensive weapons. And really, it's overkill for the kind of mission we're doing." What... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html Fri, 10 Nov 2006 08:42:35 -0600 Target Attack Guidance defines when it's worth shooting one, or 1000. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52761 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52761 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:40:54 -0600 You know, if you fire one of these you're pretty sure of hitting your target. But if you fire 100 'plain' rounds you're really sure of hitting your target and you save a whole lot of money. Me, I'm cheap. Y'know, KC Steve, I'm not sure you finished that line of thought. Because if you fire a hundred of those rounds where Canadians are operating in Kandahar province, you're not only really sure of hitting your target, you're really REALLY sure of hitting a whole bunch of things and people that weren't your target. And then, instead of hunting Taliban in a neutral or semi-cooperative environment, you're hunting them in a pissed-off and hostile one. Which, it goes without saying, is more difficult and more costly both in terms of money and of soldiers' lives than it absolutely needs to be. Me, I'm cheap too. The Brits have a phrase though: penny-wise, pound-foolish. Maybe I'm just a little longer-term cheap than you on this particular issue.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52760 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52760 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:23:30 -0600 one of these you're pretty sure of hitting your target. But if you fire 100 'plain' rounds you're really sure of hitting your target and you save a whole lot of money. Me, I'm cheap.]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52759 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52759 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 13:09:02 -0600 HL - yeah, but the Gun Bunnies would love the first hundred or so... If we fired lower charges, we wouldn't need to retube... http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52756 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52756 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 12:26:25 -0600 $150K? Somebody is making some phat profits. You're probably right, Trias. But I'm guessing the R&D to put precision guidance on something that gets jarred the way an artillery round does wasn't cheap. I see stuff like this as similar to a new prescription drug: you're not just paying for the pill, you're paying for the team of scientists who worked on it for the past ten years (not to mention the lawyers who made sure it got through the regulatory maze, the marketing team, etc).]]> http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52753 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52753 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:27:41 -0600 $150K? Somebody is making some phat profits. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52751 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52751 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 11:13:54 -0600 and it's got a Unitary Penetrating Payload. what do they have against those nice unitarians? http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52747 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52747 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 10:43:45 -0600 So, for the price of one Excalibur, a battery (6 guns) of 155s could fire somewhere around 1,000 HE shells EACH. Which would be fun to watch, though probably somewhat tough on the guns and gunners. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52746 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52746 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 10:38:20 -0600 Ours have the Maple Syrup option? Cheers http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52742 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52742 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:58:05 -0600 I think my customers will mostly be museums, anyway. And they're always trying to cadge them as donations, the cheep bassids. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52740 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52740 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:17:26 -0600 Hmmm: The neighborhood is stating to get crowded. But for Massa John, I'll make an exception. http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52739 http://www.thedonovan.com/archives/2006/11/maybe_i_should_start_dealing_in_arms.html#comment-52739 Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:15:33 -0600