What makes a weapon anti-air or anti-tank? Would anti-air be effective against tanks? Could we create one weapon that covers both, or even all possible targets?
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the primary characteristic of an anti-air missile is maneuverability. it takes energy for a fast moving object to change direction and so aa missiles carry a lot of fuel and a little warhead. anti-armor missiles are targeted against very slow moving ground vehicles and need a heavy warhead to get the job done, but don’t need to maneuver much once they are pointed at a target. it would theoretically be possible to create a missile that does both, but it would be more expensive than either dedicated missile and probably have worse performance.
Vikhr, ADATS, Hellfire.
Also tank wouldnt respond kindly if hit by a missile from S-300 system.
Everyone else has covered the specifics, I’ll just chime in with the fact that all weapons can be used outside their wheelhouse to at least some effect, no matter how minimal. Their design and purpose doesn’t change the fact that the ammunitions are chunks of metal and gunpowder being thrown around at supersonic speeds. That tends to damage things regardless of what they are. A modern tank will survive flak fire from an anti-aircraft gun, but the tank crew is *not going to be happy* that they are in any position at all to be fired at. The tank also might sustain damage to its weaker parts, like the treads. Because, again, it is being struck by high velocity metal, which tends to damage at least *something.* AA missiles would likely be less effective for multiple reasons, but it’s still going to make the tank crew think twice.
Likewise, if you can catch a plane on the ground, even small arms fires is gonna mess it up, or at least ground it until they can ensure no critical damage was dealt in an unlucky place.
Everyone else has covered the specifics, I’ll just chime in with the fact that all weapons can be used outside their wheelhouse to at least some effect, no matter how minimal. Their design and purpose doesn’t change the fact that the ammunitions are chunks of metal and gunpowder being thrown around at supersonic speeds. That tends to damage things regardless of what they are. A modern tank will survive flak fire from an anti-aircraft gun, but the tank crew is *not going to be happy* that they are in any position at all to be fired at. The tank also might sustain damage to its weaker parts, like the treads. Because, again, it is being struck by high velocity metal, which tends to damage at least *something.* AA missiles would likely be less effective for multiple reasons, but it’s still going to make the tank crew think twice.
Likewise, if you can catch a plane on the ground, even small arms fires is gonna mess it up, or at least ground it until they can ensure no critical damage was dealt in an unlucky place.
It’s a bit like hunting a duck vs. hunting a rhino. Birdshot won’t do much to a rhino, and you would have a hell of a time hitting a flying duck with a big game rifle. You have different needs.
Anti-aircraft missiles are extremely fast and agile, usually flying between Mach 2.5 and Mach 5. They typically use a blast-frag warhead to damage a fragile aircraft by simply detonating near it with shrapnel. They use either radar homing or an IR seeker to find their target.
Tanks are extremely tough but not very maneuverable. ATGMs usually fly around Mach 1, guided by either a thermal seeker or manually guided by the user. The key to a good anti-tank missile is a warhead capable of piercing a tremendous amount of armor. They utilize a shaped-charge or explosively-formed-penetrator to punch through thick armor. Some even have 2 warheads in tandem to defeat explosive-reactive-armor or ERA.
1a jet is fast,has lots of countermessures to throw off a missiles tracking system (like flares and chaff,even speed and manuver) tank has diffrent counter mesures like era,aps,or automatic smoke dispensers
2in order to destroy a tank, you need penetration at all costs,the biggest defence in a tanks arsenal is its armour and manuverabilty(which is way waay less than a plane) and in order to penetrate you need heavy ammunition, and those ammunitions are tend to be slow and doesnt have lots of fuel for a jet chase
3a lot of anti air missiles or shells work by getting close to a target, and exploding it so it doesnt need pinpoint accuracy and can destroy a target by getting it relativly close to it so it doesnt need to penetrate and it doesnt,those kind of shells are useless against tanks
Everyone else has covered the specifics, I’ll just chime in with the fact that all weapons can be used outside their wheelhouse to at least some effect, no matter how minimal. Their design and purpose doesn’t change the fact that the ammunitions are chunks of metal and gunpowder being thrown around at supersonic speeds. That tends to damage things regardless of what they are. A modern tank will survive flak fire from an anti-aircraft gun, but the tank crew is *not going to be happy* that they are in any position at all to be fired at. The tank also might sustain damage to its weaker parts, like the treads. Because, again, it is being struck by high velocity metal, which tends to damage at least *something.* AA missiles would likely be less effective for multiple reasons, but it’s still going to make the tank crew think twice.
Likewise, if you can catch a plane on the ground, even small arms fires is gonna mess it up, or at least ground it until they can ensure no critical damage was dealt in an unlucky place.
It’s a bit like hunting a duck vs. hunting a rhino. Birdshot won’t do much to a rhino, and you would have a hell of a time hitting a flying duck with a big game rifle. You have different needs.
Anti-aircraft missiles are extremely fast and agile, usually flying between Mach 2.5 and Mach 5. They typically use a blast-frag warhead to damage a fragile aircraft by simply detonating near it with shrapnel. They use either radar homing or an IR seeker to find their target.
Tanks are extremely tough but not very maneuverable. ATGMs usually fly around Mach 1, guided by either a thermal seeker or manually guided by the user. The key to a good anti-tank missile is a warhead capable of piercing a tremendous amount of armor. They utilize a shaped-charge or explosively-formed-penetrator to punch through thick armor. Some even have 2 warheads in tandem to defeat explosive-reactive-armor or ERA.
To hit an air target, the requirements are to accurately intercept an object moving at many hundreds of miles an hour, to within 10 or 20 feet. Jets can often surpass Mach 1, and missiles can go many times faster. That said, at those speeds, everything has to be precise. Even a minor amount of damage can take such an object out, just from the force of the air hitting it. So damage can be low, but spread out.
To hit a ground target, the requirement is to make a direct physical connection with an object moving at up to 80 mph. These objects are heavily armored and designed to resist incoming fire, so the warhead has to defeat heavy ablative armor, and the rocket has to support the weight of that warhead.
The targeting objectives and math are totally different for tracking, the warheads are totally different for balancing, the rocketry is totally different, and that means it is cheaper to store two different missiles than it is to build one that does everything.
It’s a bit like hunting a duck vs. hunting a rhino. Birdshot won’t do much to a rhino, and you would have a hell of a time hitting a flying duck with a big game rifle. You have different needs.
Anti-aircraft missiles are extremely fast and agile, usually flying between Mach 2.5 and Mach 5. They typically use a blast-frag warhead to damage a fragile aircraft by simply detonating near it with shrapnel. They use either radar homing or an IR seeker to find their target.
Tanks are extremely tough but not very maneuverable. ATGMs usually fly around Mach 1, guided by either a thermal seeker or manually guided by the user. The key to a good anti-tank missile is a warhead capable of piercing a tremendous amount of armor. They utilize a shaped-charge or explosively-formed-penetrator to punch through thick armor. Some even have 2 warheads in tandem to defeat explosive-reactive-armor or ERA.
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