DEFENCE TECHNOLOGIES: The drones are small—the arms race may not be. Here’s how the US can win

Friday 10th May 2024

DEFENCE TECHNOLOGIES: The drones are small—the arms race may not be. Here’s how the US can win.
Syndicated by GEÓVoice PR Wire – Gibraltar
GEÓPoliticalMatters.com/PRVoice
Daily Geopolitical PR 

The era for small-drone warfare has arrived. Recent attacks on Israel and the continuing war in Ukraine have put a global spotlight on the proliferation of small, commercially available Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS), commonly known as drones. This proliferation of sUAS stands in stark contrast to the use of larger, more complex, and expensive military-grade UAVs, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, which remain out of reach for many militaries, rebel groups, and other non-state actors. These groups are instead embracing commercially available drones and transforming modern warfare and battlefield tactics as a result.

Russia and Ukraine have used drones to great effect on the battlefield. Now Russia is further developing Iranian designed “one-way” drones as an economically effective weapon. Leveraging the readily available technology, Ukraine has turned drones into tactical tools for reconnaissance, precision strikes, and the ongoing disruption of Russian forces.

Meanwhile in Yemen, Iran-backed Houthis have grown adept at using low-cost drones for attacks on Saudi infrastructure, international commercial shipping to disrupt global commerce, and, most recently, against Israel. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq and a small US outpost in Jordan, drones have been used to attack US and allied forces and punish their hosts.

Intercepted Iranian drones were broadcast across international media outlets following Tehran’s attack on Israel on April 14. Even before this, Israeli soldiers were being effectively attacked by Hamas’s deployment of drones outfitted with explosives and deployed to disrupt infrastructure and equipment such as cameras or to attack personnel.

Once viewed as mere toys, small drones have undergone a lightning-fast evolution into accessible, weaponized technology, disrupting the established international order. The deceptive simplicity of drone production and launch stands in stark contrast to the complexity of developing effective countermeasures and policies. Furthermore, past policies myopically focused on foreign trade or counterintelligence concerns, without considering the broader market, which is driving mass production. Learn More /…