Our new rockets will reach 499 kilometres

Tweet

The Australian Army is to spend millions with the purchase of the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMARS) system. This has made news headlines as well it might. But what strikes me as funny is that the system will allow the Arby to hit targets in excess of 499 kilometres. Say what? 499 kilometres? Why not say 500 and be done with it? Or ‘in excess of 450 kms’? Not only was it in the print version but the guy interviewed on TV at lunchtime also spouted ‘499 kilometres’. I wonder if someone else wrote his speech and he didn’t read it through first. I sometimes despair of our newspapers and TV reporters. Their grammar and spelling are shocking for starters. That probably shouldn’t be a key issue but linked with their lack of professionalism in other areas, it gives a person very little faith in their reporting. They also have little empathy or sensitivity when interviewing public figures or victims or crime. I don't have a photo of a rocket but here's a tree that's been struck by lightning.