Reply #17: Another lovely weapons system. They're also working on hypersonic cruise [View All]

[megatherium]

missiles, to be deployed around decade's end. Unmanned vehicles which can deliver a 500 kg payload to any point on the globe in 2 hours, but which can be recalled if necessary. In recent years, we've dumped lots of cruise missiles on various targets, but these require 24-48 hours of lead-time, as they have to be launched by ship or by B-52 from within 1500 miles of the target. So terrorists or other adversaries would have lots of time to hunker down or leave, when we needed to bomb them. Now they won't have that luxury. I'm not certain if I find that comforting.

Footfall, by the way, is a classic aliens-attack-Earth novel by Pournelle and Niven. The aliens use rods of God against humans; the humans fight back with neutron weapons and project Orion. Loads of fun if you don't take it too seriously.