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Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by blackeyeblitzar on Wednesday April 24, 2024 @11:34PM (#40153114)
Diversifying the economy is a pathway to winning wars. Limiting themselves to a few expensive and stagnant vendors is a way to lose in the future. Other countries make these things much more efficiently because they don’t have lazy governments captured by old companies.

Also I have no idea what this has to do with “diversity” or what you even mean by that.

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by throwup238 on Wednesday April 24, 2024 @11:58PM (#40153257)
> Other countries make these things much more efficiently because they don’t have regulatory capture by old companies.

This contract is for cutting edge unmanned fighter jets. Other countries don't make them at all!

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by blackeyeblitzar on Thursday April 25, 2024 @12:36AM (#40153457)
I meant other countries make the plane portion (not Anduril’s unmanned controls) that General Atomics is responsible for. Predators and Reapers are very expensive.
Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by modeless on Thursday April 25, 2024 @12:08AM (#40153323)
Probably because it's way better to make swarms of dirt cheap drones
Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by throwup238 on Thursday April 25, 2024 @12:20AM (#40153381)
No one makes swarms in any real sense of the word, either.

These unmanned Wingman jets will be the first in the world to do that too.

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by inemesitaffia on Thursday April 25, 2024 @01:25AM (#40153754)
Look up Rogozins comments about how Ukrainians operate drones for a Russian loyalist perspective
Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by throwup238 on Thursday April 25, 2024 @05:20AM (#40155237)
Those are cheap consumer drones not “swarms”, cheap airplanes, and drones from other countries.

If they could make an F16 equivalent combat drone, they’d jump at the chance.

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by nytesky on Wednesday April 24, 2024 @11:46PM (#40153186)
What country has more efficient and effective military aircraft?
Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by Dalewyn on Wednesday April 24, 2024 @11:59PM (#40153265)
>Also I have no idea what this has to do with “diversity” or what you even mean by that.

Diversity, or "the condition of having or being composed of differing elements"[1], in this case a wide variety of suppliers.

I assume most of us are speaking English here.

[1]: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diversity

>Limiting themselves to a few expensive and stagnant vendors is a way to lose in the future.

You win wars by buying your equipment from the most capable suppliers. If that happens to be a centralized cabal of suppliers (this stuff is expensive, after all), then it is what it is. It's not the mission of the DoD to diversify the economy, its mission is to win wars as effectively as possible at any cost.

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by matthewmacleod on Thursday April 25, 2024 @02:56AM (#40154324)
…and at the level of the DoD your goals include ensuring that there ARE as many capable suppliers as possible, using your commercial power, to increase your chances of “winning wars as effectively as possible”.

Wars are won on logistics; a corrupt, stagnant, or under-innovating market is a barrier to successful defence.

Re:Air Force picks Anduril, General Atomics to develop unman... by Dalewyn on Thursday April 25, 2024 @08:28AM (#40156661)
You aren't going to win wars by procuring from second and third rate suppliers just to keep the market diverse. You have to ask for proposals from across the market, but it's natural that suppliers will become centralized given how much money, time, and expertise is required.

The mission of keeping the economy healthy lies upon the Commerce and Justice Departments, whose missions are to manage the economy and keep industries within the confines of the law respectively.