"Aircrews found the airspace and timing were often too tight for APKWS employment in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, so they have ended up relying on AIM-9s. But defensive counterair for base defense has featured APKWS." airandspaceforces.com/articl…
WORLD: Iran | Air & Space Forces Magazine

WORLD: Iran | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The APKWS has become the primary way for U.S. and allied fighters to thwart one-way attack drones in a new age of semi-autonomous warfare. 

airandspaceforces.com

Nov 7, 2026 · 1:50 PM UTC

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The rate of innovation is unacceptably slow. Still spending way more per drone kill than cost of drones.
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twz.com/air/infrared-seeker-…
Infrared Seeker For APKWS Guided 70mm Rockets Unveiled

Infrared Seeker For APKWS Guided 70mm Rockets Unveiled

Adding infrared guidance to APKWS II rockets allows for multiple targets to be engaged more rapidly, especially in the air-to-air role.

twz.com
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That's because most of their Apkws has to be last all the way and weren't fire and forget. Newest ones have IR seekers
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Laser-rich environment. They may need to tighten their dazzle settings?
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Holy Christ am I the only sentient man alive? Outfit the F15 to drop it's own laser guided or heat seeking drones, ditch the dogfighting/standoff sidewinders. We're now in a reality where dogfighting doesn't exist
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Doesnt address the ballistic missile or loitering problem...
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Isnt APKWs the best counter?
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Why not use those microwave energy weapons to fry the drones instead? They have had them since the 1960s. Why is it only me who thinks of these things.
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"It's too tight for APKWS, switching to JDAMS"
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If only they had an ally with battle-tested cost effective drone technology.
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Apkws is for slow moving aircraft. F15s are fast
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I wish the new ace combat had put this in. Drone air to air battles has been a thing for years.
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While Ukrainian fighter pilots switch to their cannons.
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The problem with apkws is it needs laser designation so its a one target at a time weapon and not fire and forget like sidewinder. Which is why BAE has been contracted to create a version of APKWS with a dual-mode seeker.
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This arms race is unsustainable for the US. We have too many billionaire assholes who have to get a cut of every single tax dollar spent and they’ll never let that change.
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Why is any fighter even carrying a laser guided bomb going to attack drones? Of course your engagement envelope sucks when you are flying like a fully loaded double decker.
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Why not guns?
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Best airforce in the world btw
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So many twitter warriors and mouth experts here
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Maybe you should let Ukraine fight them. They know what they’re doing.
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@grok Explain in detail
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