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?
In: 864
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.
The effectiveness of a tool is inversely proportional to the number of tasks for which it is designed. You can usually get two or three distinct functions out of a single tool without substantially affecting it, but the more you do the more it fails.
Anti-air and anti-tank are two very different targrt profiles.
Aircraft are lightly armored, maneuver in a three dimensional space, and move much faster than most ground vehicles. You need an attack system that can track that fast moving target, and enough energy to reach the target, but it doesnt take much energy to damage the target. Shrapnel is very effective against aircraft, so flak shells and some anti-air missiles are designed to explode near the aircraft to increase their chance of doing damage.
Tanks are heavily armored and drive across the ground. The weakest armor on a tank is the top and the bottom, because their profiles are designed to fight other tanks. Shaped charges and/or penetrators are necessary to defeat the armor, and the weapon has to be either super portable or able to engage the tank without being detected. Shaped charge mines are very effective against tanks, but much more effective are guided missiles which utilize a “top attack” to strike the thinner top armor.
Anti-tank weapons can be used against air assets. If you score a hit you will do massive damage. Anti-air weapons are less likely to be effective against tanks, with the exception of some high velocity autocannons.
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.
The effectiveness of a tool is inversely proportional to the number of tasks for which it is designed. You can usually get two or three distinct functions out of a single tool without substantially affecting it, but the more you do the more it fails.
Anti-air and anti-tank are two very different targrt profiles.
Aircraft are lightly armored, maneuver in a three dimensional space, and move much faster than most ground vehicles. You need an attack system that can track that fast moving target, and enough energy to reach the target, but it doesnt take much energy to damage the target. Shrapnel is very effective against aircraft, so flak shells and some anti-air missiles are designed to explode near the aircraft to increase their chance of doing damage.
Tanks are heavily armored and drive across the ground. The weakest armor on a tank is the top and the bottom, because their profiles are designed to fight other tanks. Shaped charges and/or penetrators are necessary to defeat the armor, and the weapon has to be either super portable or able to engage the tank without being detected. Shaped charge mines are very effective against tanks, but much more effective are guided missiles which utilize a “top attack” to strike the thinner top armor.
Anti-tank weapons can be used against air assets. If you score a hit you will do massive damage. Anti-air weapons are less likely to be effective against tanks, with the exception of some high velocity autocannons.
There is one weapon that can destroy all possible targets, but nuclear weapons have a bad rap.
The effectiveness of a tool is inversely proportional to the number of tasks for which it is designed. You can usually get two or three distinct functions out of a single tool without substantially affecting it, but the more you do the more it fails.
Anti-air and anti-tank are two very different targrt profiles.
Aircraft are lightly armored, maneuver in a three dimensional space, and move much faster than most ground vehicles. You need an attack system that can track that fast moving target, and enough energy to reach the target, but it doesnt take much energy to damage the target. Shrapnel is very effective against aircraft, so flak shells and some anti-air missiles are designed to explode near the aircraft to increase their chance of doing damage.
Tanks are heavily armored and drive across the ground. The weakest armor on a tank is the top and the bottom, because their profiles are designed to fight other tanks. Shaped charges and/or penetrators are necessary to defeat the armor, and the weapon has to be either super portable or able to engage the tank without being detected. Shaped charge mines are very effective against tanks, but much more effective are guided missiles which utilize a “top attack” to strike the thinner top armor.
Anti-tank weapons can be used against air assets. If you score a hit you will do massive damage. Anti-air weapons are less likely to be effective against tanks, with the exception of some high velocity autocannons.
There is one weapon that can destroy all possible targets, but nuclear weapons have a bad rap.
There is one weapon that can destroy all possible targets, but nuclear weapons have a bad rap.
Generally it comes down to the actual system cueing the weapon to the target. A Surface to Air Missile will take out a tank, much like an anti-tank round will take out an aircraft.
Generally Anti-tank weapons must be lightweight (Carried by infantry) reasonably disposable and short range (within visual range). Anti-Aircraft missiles need to solve a target location in angle. range and velocity and the associated rates of change of those as a fighter travels at 800mph. This carries with it the requirement for (normally) a Radar to cue the weapon which is technologically advanced, large in size and has significant power and processing requirements.
Fighter pilots don’t care about the weapon, they care about and aim to defeat the radar cueing it.
Generally it comes down to the actual system cueing the weapon to the target. A Surface to Air Missile will take out a tank, much like an anti-tank round will take out an aircraft.
Generally Anti-tank weapons must be lightweight (Carried by infantry) reasonably disposable and short range (within visual range). Anti-Aircraft missiles need to solve a target location in angle. range and velocity and the associated rates of change of those as a fighter travels at 800mph. This carries with it the requirement for (normally) a Radar to cue the weapon which is technologically advanced, large in size and has significant power and processing requirements.
Fighter pilots don’t care about the weapon, they care about and aim to defeat the radar cueing it.
Latest Answers