KH-69 intercepted by VAMPIRE APKWS>Footage of a Ukrainian Vampire/BRAWLR SAM system shooting down a Russian Kh-69 cruise missile with a low-cost APKWS laser-guided rocket. >Confirms that the platform, initially intended as an anti-drone weapon, can also successfully down higher-end threats.
>>64381452>VAMPIRE APKWSI love these things so much. Build millions of them
the system
>>64381452it's got SALH guidance, so as long as you can keep the target locked on it'll track to the target. its short range (due to both the limitations of SALH homing and the Hydra 70) if anything is its primary limitation
>>64381452>BRAWLR? What the fuck is tha...https://breakingdefense.com/2025/10/snc-brawlr-air-defense/>Sierra Nevada reveals BRAWLR air defense system that’s already deployed — somewhere>The company told Breaking Defense in an email this week that BRAWLR has intercepted more than 400 aerial threats since it was first deployed in 2023, though SNC declined to provide additional information.>By Rachel Cohen on October 02, 2025 7:32 amKEK
What if you coat the cruise missile in vanta black so there is no optical end point for target acquisition? I’m half shit posting but would like an answer from my esteemed colleagues. Example like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ObM7BTe_Jrw
>>64381683You switch to negative targeting, and target the bit of the sky where there's no light at all.
>69Nice
>>64381693Wow, so cool. Thanks for such a knowledgeable answer.What SALH systems do that?
>>64381452>One of the ISV-mounted options is the VAMPIRE Stalke>Aside from wheeled vehicles, VAMPIRE is shown mounted in a standard container, known as VAMPIRE CASKET (Containerized Anti-drone System with Kinetic Effects Turret)>Other variations see the system mounted atop a static tower for point defense of installations as VAMPIRE BAT (Base Anti-drone Turret).>Finally, as Black Wake, the system is mounted aboard an uncrewed surface vessel>L3Harris is also offering the VAMPIRE Dead Wing as an airborne counter-drone system, which integrates elements of the VAMPIRE on an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.>At least one projected version of the system, VAMPIRE Killcode, does away with the kinetic effectors entirely and defeats drones using an electronic warfare system.Genuinely rolled my eyes so hard reading this https://www.twz.com/air/entire-family-of-vampire-counter-drone-systems-unveiledWho comes up with this shit
>>64381486>Build millions of them You'll get your wish, especially now that Forges de Zeebrugge are making their own version, which is compatible with existing launchers and guidance systems.
>>64381788Good naming makes it easy to remember stuff.
>>64381683Non shitpost answer is that the reflective emissivity of materials isn't uniform across the spectral range, and Vantablack becomes more reflective at longer wavelengths. Vantablack would work well against APKWS, for example, but wouldn't work against lasers of longer wavelength (which admittedly are not presently in common use, but would be if the technique was common), but wouldn't work at all against Hellfire Longbow at mm wavelength (1000x longer wavelength). The main issue here is nomenclature, because between a SALH seeker head at about 1000nm that we call an IR laser, and a 1,000,000nm SARH seeker head that we call a mm wave radar is the entire IR band. At some point it stops making sense to achieve amplification and coherence by lasing and it makes sense to use other techniques like beamforming instead.Further non shitpost answer is that vantablack will get really hot and re-emit strongly in IR, and that it, and the whole class of materials, probably doesn't stand up well to real world conditions like strong windflow and particular matter. It would be like RAM maintenance on crack.
>>64381788I like it. It's like a bunch of sleep-deprived interns proposed an ironic try-hard name and somehow the stars aligned and no one countermanded it until all the engineers started dressing in high goth.I also love the shitposty names the Ukies have. Sea Baby. Flamingo. Stuff like that.
>>64381788I take it you don't do shopping or go outside, as it's hardly the worst effort in naming out there.
>>64381788I like the double wordplay in Black Wake.
>>64381495High end bonus tier gacha for the Technicals tech tree.
>>64381759Modern day DSLR cameras and even smartphone cameras can already do image recognition. Painting your missile high contrast black only makes it easier.
>>64381683>>64381839The way easier counter for this is to swap APKWS to command guidance. APKWS being a kit and the expensive bits of command guidance being housed on the launcher (and with the processing power afforded to systems these days, I reckon any modifications would be trivial), the swap would be relatively inexpensive. You take a hit in terms of Pk, but it counters anything like that.APKWS II is also planned to use IR seekers in addition to SALH
>>64381885Enlighten a guy whose first language isn't English. What does Black Wake mean/reference?
>>64381788So that's what Mark Rein-Hagen does these days.
>>64381788This is fucking kino, ngl
>>64381788Half the incentive to be an research nerd is to come up with the dumbest names that you can get approved so that you get to laugh your ass off whenever you watch someone gives a speech about it and has to say it with a straight face. If this one annoys you, don't go looking at what they name half of the newfound species these days, or any other cutting edge scientific field.>>64381927Wake is a type of funeral procession, as well as boat wake
>>64381927"Black Wake" can mean a boat's wake since it's on an unmanned boat, or a funeral wake to fit in with the vampire theming.
>>64381908So none.
>>64381979>>64381980Thanks guys.
>>64381919>You take a hit in terms of Pk, but it counters anything like that.The hit is that an MCLOS weapon requires uninterrupted vision from shooter to target and connection from shooter to munition. You lose collaborative engagement and reduce crew survival.>>64381908No collaborative engagement or multiple target engagement. Very immature technology.
>>64381788brought to you big big tiddy goth gf gang
>>64382113>uninterrupted vision from shooter to target and connection from shooter to munitionthe anti-air application of APKWS is mostly uninhibited by these restrictions, it's a short ranged munition and the guidance sensor is on the launcher regardless. All VAMPIRE systems have the launcher and sensor collocated. Given the short range of the system, using off-board designators is going to severely limit your fields of fire regardless.>MCLOSwho said anything about MCLOS, I'm talking about ACLOS, the FLIR balls on VAMPIRE have automatic tracking.
>>64381495I have the Tacoma, I just need that system.
>>64381759Beamriders.
>>64382339Beamriders are different from SALH, two different technologies. SALH looks forward, beamriders look back. That being said CLOS via radio command is usually trivial to implement these days (though trivial implementations are conversely trivial to jam).
>>64381495shit's so spartan, love it
I still prefer my LNs, and more importantly, my JAVs naming scheme.
>>64381452UHHHH COST BROS???? DID THE TABLES JUST TURN ON US?
>>64381495That's very pole-ish.
>>64381683The video you posted is misguiding, It's not that black in real life. It's easy to fool people with videos if you know how to mess with the dynamic range of the camera (or rather format and displaying device). I have studied a number of black paints. Yes, those kinds of black are quite black in the visual spectrum, but they are bad paints in all other categories. Grade of blackness was very dependent on correct application. Zero abrasion resistance, will get gray spots when touched lightly. Impossible to clean even fingerprints without messing it up further. Also, reflectivity isn't uniform over all angles. Good luck optimizing a paint for every angle.>>64381839Quality post.
>>64381788love my backronyms, simple as
>>64383302"Apackwuhs" I say this.
>>64383312APKWS isn't a backronym or am I missing something?
Do you have to keep it on target yourself? Or does it lock on
>>64383321Your right, it's just how I read it.
>>64383324Reading the wikipedia page could help.APKWS is an extention kit to make 70mm/2.75in Hydra rockets laser guided. Vampire (Vehicle-Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment) consists of a sensor ball and a four-barreled APKWS rocket launcher that can be mounted on trucks.
>>64381495How much further does the Technical Tech Tree go?
How is a pickup truck with nigger-rigged rockets that were initially only for A2G use, more capable of shooting down VLO ALCMs than Pantsir with purpose-built missiles and guns?Is Russian air defence really that bad?
>>64382382Its got a real "used in serious wars" look about it
>>64383362forbidden technology hasn't been unlocked yet
>>64383362tomahawk launchers?
>>64383112The penny has flipped
>>64381788You'd think they hired the French to name it.
>>64384243The dividend is in the dividend.
>>64383312What you saying about ap kwiss?
>>64383362ICBM
>>64384267The ruble has fallen.
>>64383519Pantsir uses CLOS guidance, half-rectification guidance specifically, which is extremely sensitive to errors in range measurements of both the missile and target. It's also a longer ranged system. This is just my educated guess but the presence of jamming and stealth, the laser rangefinder isn't accurate enough at range and the missile telemetry's data might be significantly degraded, causing poor system performance. The guidance law also generally performs poorly at the extremes of the missile's performance envelope.APKWS uses SALH which allows it to use proportional navigation and doesn't require range data, making it fairly robust.Can't just swap Pantsir to proportional navigation either, the missile has no seeker, so any error in measurements would get even more amplified, half-rectification is the best they can do
>>64384269He's saying there's a pack (of) kiwis after you
>>64385012What's this about packed seaweed after two?
>>64385005>the missile has no seekerWait, what? Seriously? So the vehicle has to control guidance the entire time? How many targets can it track?
>>64385715Pantsir operator is seekerYou are the seeker Seek
>>64383597Kino
>>64383561I could see the goofy neck tonk idea being legitimately useful for small man sized UGVs with an old surplus RPD or something on it so it can peek corners and look over cover.
>>64381495>everything returns to trvck
>>64390588based
>>64381452>>64381495Fucking magnificient.
>>64384308Soon the trade volumes will be posted and everyone will short everything.
>>64381495>>64383362>>64383597>>64390588Aight boys, where to?
>>64385005>half-rectificationCan you explain what that means?
>>64392222You know when your peepee is not yet hard but isn't soft either?
>>64392047Tracks? Is a half-track a technical or is that it's own hybrid tree?
>>64392047
>>64382022Adding to what the other anons said, black can also mean evil or unholy (a gathering of witches is called a black sabbath, devil-worshippers hold black masses, curses are black magic). A "black wake" isn't a traditional term, but when it's used in the same sentence as "vampire", it's natural to assume it means a funeral for the undead.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_(ceremony)
>>64392222It's CLOS (missile is commanded to try and stay on the line between you and the target) except the line gets shifted by half the lead required to hit the target. (So instead of pointing right at the target, it points at where the target will be when the missile is halfway to the target relative to its current location).
>>64385005Not to disagree with you overall anon but lasers cannot be jammed (vs something static in principle you could throw up enough physical dust/smoke to obscure it but that won't work for a missile/bomb you're throwing at enemy territory at speed and altitude), nor does any typical stealth have any impact (again in theory you could have a coating that'd mess with certain wavelengths, but the practical considerations are many, the bypasses are many, and it's not actually a thing). It's just that lasers (and even more so the return 'signal') don't have great range in the bottom 10s of miles of our atmosphere though and of course by definition are purely line of sight, and are going to be pretty sensitive to implementation and the lasing platform.Pantsir still seems to suck, but it's not just laser either. It does have target acquisition&tracking radar that is susceptible to jamming and stealth, and probably important in terms of getting ready to actually make the optoelectronic part at all useful (delta-v is very limited here so being seconds late may mean you've already lost your chance).Honestly as a [modern russia] 2012 design a lot of it probably just comes down to it being a piece of a shit with corruption-riddled everything and worthless crew training on top. I'm sure the paper specs are all lies, and it would be utterly unsurprising after what we've seen in this war if the problems are fractal top to bottom in every aspect. Like, who knows if the missiles are even remotely all to spec at all, maybe they like, literally don't turn very well or something fucking retarded we don't even think of.
>>64381495There testing a bunch of shit like thus right now at WSMR
>>64392431>except the line gets shifted by half the lead required>halfDoesn't that require infinity calculation speed if you want to actually hit the target? I don't understand why you would compute for a half lead instead of a complete lead or even a 1.05 lead to make up for calculation time loss
>>64392680Full lead has the missile over-correcting for maneuvering targets most of the time, half reduces energy expenditure. No it doesn't require infinite calculation speed, the missile compensates for the angular velocity of the LoS for one, so it just ends up pulling a bit more g's near the target. Generally the miss distance is acceptable (when no measurement inaccuracies exist).
>>64383362only time will tell
>>64392488When I say "jamming and stealth" I was referring to Pantsir not being able to use radar to range. Laser rangefinders suffer in terms of accuracy at range, plus the environmental factors you speak of. Sorry if that wasn't clear.Also you can absolutely jam a laser by blinding it with IRCM (at least for most IR based rangefinder lasers)
>>64382382I'm a little surprised they didn't give it a .50-cal linked to the EOTS. Ground threats exist too, and even vehicles that aren't meant to be on the literal frontline still need to be able to protect themselves against at least dismounted infantry. It's not like the Vampire system takes up a lot of room or anything, so why not?
>>64383362>How much further does the Technical Tech Tree go?Low-Earth Orbit
>>64392047It needs a 12.75-inch torpedo launcher for dealing with submarines.
>>64394660I'll give it my 12.75 inch torpedo to deal with those slutty sub marines
>>64394556It's meant to be a cheap as fuck spammable system for low cost defense against low capability threats. Slapping a RWS on it is textbook requirement creep
>>64394788There's already an EOTS and a traversing pedestal mount. What extra cost is there? A mounting bracket?
>>64394930Completely different firing solution required. You need a different EVERYTHING if you also want it to shoot leas.
>>64381452Helmettard coping hard in his basement>>64381495It's truly magical. This thing was proposed way before the war but had no buyers because there was at the time no foreseeable need. It's almost the Hawker Hurricane of our time.
>>64394930Pedestal isn't designed for the loads and vibrations that come with firing a .50, nor the precision and stability required. It was also not designed for the weight of a .50 cal. Since it's mounted high on a truck, stabilization is not trivial and the actuators are likely not fast enough. Firing solution is trivial IDK why someone replied about that, that's just code-work, but the platform was not designed to fire a .50 cal.
>>64395004>tfw you have to approach the guy you blew off years ago to ask for help and you can see the "I told you so" bubbling under the surface as you explain the exact problem he warned you about
>>64383362Would mounting a siege howitzer on one of these still be considered a technical (if only by technicality)
>>64395497Eh not reallyI'm sure everyone understands the changing faces of war, and the unique situation that has emerged in UkraineL3Harris would be only too pleased to be snide, frankly
>>64381452>VAMPIRE CASKET>VAMPIRE BATNow we know they're just having fun. But yeah, good system. Cheap, reasonably effective, and doesn't rely on experimental and untested technology.
>>64381788It's a sales trick. The dumber the name the easier it is to remember.
>>64381683Vanta black absorbs too much light, heats up, and ends up emitting black body IR. APKWS switch to heat seeking.
>>64394556>Ground threats exist tooNot where this is deployed. It's portable air defence, one step up from MANPADs.Expect these to be around strategic targets and civilian infrastructure and a couple at air fields etc.Shooting people is the job of base security or even security guards and the opfor there are petty criminals or deluded idiots.
>>64392047Put a porcupine on the hood like a V8 intake.
>>64395719>Would mounting a siege howitzer on one of these still be considered a technical (if only by technicality)It would be the Dark Souls boss of technicals but I think it counts.
>>64383597This isn't a technical because it's a military vehicle specifically designed to have modular weapons and shit slapped on it.
>>64398658The joke is that there's nothing that's really stopping you from slapping the launch tube onto a F150, anon.
>>64394660>>64398579>>64392047
>>64398718>porcupine on the hoodwarcrimebridge too farcruel and unusual
>>64398718I think it needs some Mad Max bomb lances strapped to the front.Also a student driver sticker.
>>64383519Mote like russian soldiers aren't very goodhttps://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_and_tech/old_soviet_design_polish_upgrade_ukraines_s_125_newa_sc_system_may_be_defeating_ballistic_threats-16032.html
>>64381979remember the autism gene being called the sonic hedgehog gene?Peak scientific lolz
>>64399402iirc there were a bunch of fruit fly genes names after vegetables because when people induced mutations in those genes the fruit flies got real retarded, cabbage gene, rutabaga gene, etc
>>64381908>Modern day DSLR cameras and even smartphone cameras can already do image recognition. Painting your missile high contrast black only makes it easier.Well yeah, but this missile is guided by laser light reflected off the target, so your post is completely irrelevant.
>>64392488>but lasers cannot be jammedYou can "jam" laser reflection guided muntions by spraying water mist in the air. Laser beam riders cannot be jammed.
APKWS is a nigger rigged emergency solution because America cannot provide any more stinger missiles.
>says the zigger with his nigger rigged temu jdam
>>64381452Should try taking video with DJI drone or something instead of HATO technology so we could actually see something next time.
>>64399360>student driver stickerkek
>>64392047>>64399360
>>64399360If you're in the JDM Jihad Trukk you'll want this
>>64402742Beautiful.
>>64381788kek dudes got a hardon for vampires since van helsing thats a given
>>64394556Redundant. The rockets can be laser guided into ground targets. Laser guidance was originally designed for ground targets after all.
>>64381683>what's bean riding
>>64402742>audible giggling in the back of class
>>64398718>>64398786>>64402742
>>64404541>what's bean ridingIt's a cholo version of a drive-by.
>>64402742Next add chariot wheel spikes.
>>64402742ngmi without a cow catcher
>>64405101Reminds me of this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTCGqew6zig
>>64405110>>64405306
