• matlag@sh.itjust.works
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      4 days ago

      And even then, can’t the US military detect them and blow them up? Or have cheap drones patrolling ahead of ships to trigger them?

      • FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        I’m not sure the insurance companies will pay out when someone loses a quarter billion dollar freighter plus cargo and associated personnel in a warzone when they come back with “but we put a cheap drone out front just to check for mines” lol

        • towerful@programming.dev
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          4 days ago

          I dunno if a “cheap drone” can produce the same magnetic response that a fucking cargo ship can, but it seems extremely unlikely.

          And what, you have 2 in the water ahead of you? Is that enough for it to be clear for a cargo ship? They function perfectly all the time and catch every single mine?
          What happens when 1 finds a mine? How many extras do you carry? What happens when you run out, “just turn around”?

          Drones could probably clear a shipping channel, but at some point and actual ship is going to have to go through it.
          And the suez canal was blocked for ages due to 1 ship, even after having been operated for decades. That, except the ship sinks.

          • hector@lemmy.today
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            4 days ago

            Plus I think many of the mines do not float, they lurk below the water line, making them harder to spot.