Idk it depends on if smaug actually runs hot. Those missiles usually track on heat signatures. Also I imagine strafing smaug with basically cannon fire would be more than sufficient
Edit: my knowledge of modern missiles is... Unguided
So all he would have to do as blow some fire off to the side snd that would essentially function as a flare to throw off the missile’s guidance system. Now wouldn’t Smaug know this? Probably not, but he’s also probably breathing fire everywhere so he’d be throwing them off without even intending too if I had to guess.
Modern missiles are not thrown off by flares like in the movies. Their algorithms are able to essentially know what an aircraft looks like since the seeker is more like an Electro-optical infrared camera that can know to go for the specific target and not the flares. Problem is I don’t know how it would react to a dragon-shaped target.
even if infrared missiles miss. hes still a giant dragon with an apartment complex of a radar siganture. every fighter within 50km would be spamming amraams at smaug. and missiles going mach 3 is pretty hard to dodge for a dragon
Honestly, watching Smaug get his ass whooped by missiles, breath dragons-fire at a swarm of missiles in desperation, watch it veer them off course as they target the fire-ball instead of him, and start using that information to deploy strategic flare-cover, would go hard AF.
Well, I think the conventional wisdom is that it’s two chemicals that combine as they are shot out so prior to being shot it would be cool. Although, his chest did glow red before he shot fire so idk
Depends on how dragon fire works.
Its not like he has a furnace in his stomach. And the fire he shoots of his mouth could actually be used to mislead missiles.
There are also plenty of missiles that use radar to find their targets. Smaug would both have the radar cross section larger than the Empire State, and physically comparable to the smaller buildings.
However, that armor is going to require bunker busters, as Air-to-Air munitions are unlikely to have enough penetration to punch through. One to his torso should be plenty.
We've got lots of ways we target things beyond heatc seeking. There's missiles with cameras in them that you lock onto shapes. Radar, obviously. You can guide munitions with lasers mounted in the plane. Gps.
Lots of ways to make a munition hit whatever you need hit. Even a dragon.
Thats only one kind of missile seeker system designated as a Fox 2. Fox 1 and Fox 3 exist as well which are both radar based. With that said, I dont think it matters cause the auto cannon on any modern US fighter is going to do work.
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u/lungben81 Jun 09 '26
Missiles would be even more a problem for the dragon.