• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    241 year ago

    Why do people keep calling these “Kamikaze”? The point of the Kamikaze was that there was a human pilot inside, who was going on a suicide mission. These are just inanimate things. Drones, cruise missiles, whatever, NOT kamikaze.

    Or else I will start calling all bombs, artillery shells, all munitions that destroy themselves at the target, “kamikaze”:

    “Germany has agreed to send more kamikaze ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft systems, along with a number of IRIS-T kamikaze anti-aircraft missiles, and 50 Taurus kamikaze cruise missiles.” “The US have announced that they would deliver 15,000 new kamikaze artillery shells to Ukraine.”

    See how silly that is? /rant

    • OrbitJunkie
      link
      fedilink
      English
      71 year ago

      Honest question, what should they call it?

      To me, it makes sense that they don’t want to call it a missile unless it has a rocket or other type of powerful engine. Drones are things that I expect to have the ability to return to base, and to have a propeller engine, so if any of those is designed to not return then calling them kamikaze makes sense no?

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        81 year ago

        I find “loitering munitions” fine, people should just get used to correct non-sensationalist terminology. Or maybe sacrificial drones, or cruise missiles, although these traditionally have no loiter phase. But Kamikaze has the very strong implication of a human sacrifice, I find equating that with a single use or expendable drone to be in poor taste. Cruise missiles have been “smart” at least since the late 1980s, so that’s nothing new, either. Just because this one can fly in circles for a while does not make it more sacrificial than faster, straight-flying ones.

        Just my opinion.

        • @Redditiscancer789
          link
          English
          21 year ago

          i mean in English I’ve also seen them called suicide drones because of the connotations of terrorist suicide bombers I imagine. Kamikaze is more fun though imo.

        • nyoooom
          link
          21 year ago

          I agree very much that it’s not kamikaze by definition, but after thinking for awhile it’s honestly the simplest formulation, basically everyone instantly understands what it is: kamikaze, sacrifices itself by diving on the target; drone, a remotely piloted vehicle

    • pelya
      link
      71 year ago

      Yeah, but it sounds cooler than a ‘single-use drone’ or a ‘guided self-propelled cruise grenade’

        • gifferqqq
          link
          fedilink
          41 year ago

          It makes me think of a couple of suspicious looking missiles hanging out in a hotel lobby

        • pelya
          link
          11 year ago

          That honestly sounds like munitions that had left the pub after the curfew.

      • @Redditgee
        link
        41 year ago

        I like “single use drones”, too. SUDs is an easy acronym, too.