@AaronMk
Hmm, I suddenly realize that roads can go across borders, so… The entire euro-afro-asian road system is the largest infrastructure system

That’s not really a cohesive singular infrastructure project. It’s a series of investment options, not as or even continuous an object as the Interstate or national rail infrastructure. It’s development loans to someone for a port for Chinese ships, or a road overland in one country or a railroad in another. If a physically disconnected structure like that is comparable to a singular battleship, then all focus is lost when this means the global economy becomes a comparable structure

@AaronMk
How about the belt and road initiative

I should also add however the US still has the most rail track for any country ever laid, if transportation systems are being counted as like-buildings. At approximately 160,000 miles of track, we have an immense system of rail.

It could easily be doubled though, because this country is also full of abandoned right of ways for railroads. If the political will existed, new railroads could be thrown out without ever having to negotiate the land use for them; they already exist. Title for that land just hast to be found again.

At about 96,000 (rounded down) the Chinese rail network certainly does beat the US Interstate system at 46,000 (rounded down)

This graph shows that TCB probably would end in human victory, since ursa majors are shown to intimidate eve[ Twilight, while humans will just blow the hell out of it easily.

@Cirrus Light
How about the Chinese railway system?

@Background Pony #58A2
Destroyers are pretty small, too. Compare a WWII destroyer to a modern aircraft carrier. Then look up pictures of an aircraft carrier sailing under the Golden Gate bridge.

Though the biggest thing humans have ever built is probably the US Interstate highway system, but it’s so big you can’t really take it all in at once like the others, and laid concrete and asphalt doesn’t feel quite as impressive as singular steel structures.

its crazy how we humans can make something larger

Here’s the consequence of being massive… you become the biggest target.

And mankind’s gotten VERY good at punching through hard material.

@Cirrus Light  
Thanks for that lengthy reply. I do appreciate all the information you shared.

@Ardashir  
I imagine anti-tank weapons would be like bee stings, or maybe even firecrackers. Very light damage, but enough that a large volume of them might do the trick. They’re made to pierce thick ceramic composite armors, after all.
 
Anti-ship weapons could probably kill him in a single blow. He’s smaller than a ww2 destroyer (and made of considerably less steel) and most modern antiship weapons will kill a destroyer in one hit. They usually use radar, though, and aren’t made to target flying things.
 
Some rarer ones have heat seekers, though. But again, aren’t made to search the sky, or even distinguish radar reflections from terrain aside from ocean waves.
 
Probably you’d use laser-guided weapons like AGM-65 Mavericks and laser-guided bombs and anti-tank missiles like TOWs and Hellfires. I think those would definitely pierce his scales and do some real hurt, but the kill would require quite a few of them.
 
20mm C-RAM Phalanx guns might do the trick, too. Same 20mm Vulcan that jet fighters use. 30mm GAU-8 Avenger won’t penetrate the frontal armor of tanks but will pierce most anything else.
 
So it all depends on how you headcanon dragon scales compare to tank armor. Tanks are a lot smaller but ceramic composites stop rounds much better than steel, nevermind bone, afaik, and those ceramic composites are in blocks like a foot or three thick (they only fit because they’re only used to armor from frontal hits iirc).
 

 
DU penetrators (as used in tank rounds) are fun because not only do they self-sharpen as they penetrate hard armor, but they’re extremely toxic.
 
Most missile-based AT weapons use shaped charges to penetrate armor with a jet of a shockwave of molten copper liquefying armor on touch.

@Cyan Lightning  
The collateral damage from that one might be a little extreme. Unless you don’t mind losing, say, a city to take him down.
 
EDIT: I should add that my prior question came about due to reading a fanfic where the Communist Chinese invade Equestria, and have apparently killed Torch using 5.56 assault rifles. Literally no one commenting was able to believe it.

@Ardashir  

 
M65 atomic cannon, That would do it.
 
If not gravity will get him sooner or later.

Looking at this makes me wonder what sort of human weapons would be required if you wanted to kill Torch. Heavy artillery?

@Cirrus Light  
What about Carriers? Or sci-fi warships for that matter?

It’s kind of amazing to realize how freaking huge warships are.
 
Makes me feel more justified in my awe at them as awesome, titanic steel monsters.

@Wiimeiser  
Apparently, Lizzie in the movie was a fourth of the Willis Tower in length. Granted, she’s a croc so her size is mostly length (even though she was the tallest of the three too), but isn’t that, what, 120 meters from snout to tail?
 
Also, could the Ark Titanosaurus look Lord Torch right on his eyes?

@Background Pony #DF9D  
Rampage depends, but the only one I’ve played (N64) would make them probably about the size of the sirens…

So… how big would an ARK Giganoto be here? Or Lizzie from Rampage?

@Background Pony #FE64  
If we ignore the laws of physics possibly, at least if you’re thinking about city in the conventional sense.

@Background Pony #FE64  
Nothing close to approaching a chance :q

So… Could present-day Earth tech build a modern city for 2500 Ursa Major residents, with reasonable budget?

@Cirrus Light  
I don’t think that full exchanges as imagined during the Cold War are possible today, in part due to the much lower warhead count, but I think that limited exchanges involving tactical strikes on hardened targets could be considered commonplace thanks to increasingly accurate weapons - whether or not that’s better or worse, take it as you will
 
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by your second sentence, are you referring to Iran hypothetically using nuclear weapons and thus being subject to nuclear retaliation in response? Similarly to NK, I believe nuclear weapons may be used if Iran uses them first, but otherwise there are really no targets in Iran that justify using them. Typically, nuclear weapons are only considered if conventional weapons cannot accomplish the same objective. I’m not even sure if Iran is legitimately pursuing a nuclear arsenal anymore - after all, it’s been set back numerous times by the likes of the whole Stuxnet incident and Israeli airstrikes on fissile material production facilities. I don’t think many people consider Iran much of a nuclear threat due to this.

@dima_  
That’d be terrifyingly close to escalating to a full exchange.
 
But perhaps something like that in response to Iran doing what everyone is afraid of NK doing is feasible.