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Was the US military caught a little flat footed by cheap drone warfare?
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:39 am
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:39 am
This isn’t a political post about the Iran situation.
Despite years of evidence from UKR it seems like we were sort of surprised by the effectiveness of cheap drones in warfare. Or maybe that is my wrong impression.
And how above the ground does ‘air supremacy’ start? If drones and swarms of drones are still blowing stuff up does one have air supremacy?
Again, not being political. This just seems like a bell weather conflict for the art of warfare.
Side question: Are human operated tanks now completely obsolete?
Despite years of evidence from UKR it seems like we were sort of surprised by the effectiveness of cheap drones in warfare. Or maybe that is my wrong impression.
And how above the ground does ‘air supremacy’ start? If drones and swarms of drones are still blowing stuff up does one have air supremacy?
Again, not being political. This just seems like a bell weather conflict for the art of warfare.
Side question: Are human operated tanks now completely obsolete?
This post was edited on 4/14/26 at 11:41 am
26
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:39 am to weagle1999
They shouldn’t have been after watching the Ukraine War for 5 years.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:41 am to weagle1999
Reminds me of the Vietnamese guerrilla warfare tactics in the Vietnam war.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:42 am to kingbob
Military industrial complex can’t get rich making drones.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:45 am to MikeD
quote:
Military industrial complex can’t get rich making drones.
Why? The government won't spend less money...they'll just make more drones at a higher markup.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:48 am to weagle1999
quote:
seems like we were sort of surprised by the effectiveness of cheap drones in warfare.
I wouldn't say they're effective at winning a war in a traditional sense. They drag out wars until the dominant force's appetite for the conflict diminishes. Even more effective if the ones shooting them are a terrorist regime that have no issue attacking civilian infrastructure.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:52 am to weagle1999
Its warfare. They don't say, "every army is always ready for the previous war" for nothing.
Our tank crews are so insanely good. Would be interesting to see what they could do in Iran during an all out assault on a position. I really pray it doesn;t come to that, of course. Those fellas arent the best for nothing though.
quote:
Side question: Are human operated tanks now completely obsolete?
Our tank crews are so insanely good. Would be interesting to see what they could do in Iran during an all out assault on a position. I really pray it doesn;t come to that, of course. Those fellas arent the best for nothing though.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 11:55 am to weagle1999
Asymmetrical warfare is always going to be a weak point for the US military
Posted on 4/14/26 at 12:04 pm to weagle1999
There was a story a few weeks ago that Ukraine is no longer sending troops to the west for training because western militaries are out of touch with modern battlefield realities.
Another about a war game where a Ukrainian naval drone "sank" a NATO ship before the ship ever detected it.
Another about a war game where a Ukrainian naval drone "sank" a NATO ship before the ship ever detected it.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 12:10 pm to weagle1999
We would need to know how many were launched and how many hit US targets? Yeh they seemed to hit a lot of other gulf countries but is the US to blame for that?
Posted on 4/14/26 at 12:45 pm to weagle1999
quote:
Side question: Are human operated tanks now completely obsolete?
I had a few conversations with some friends about this over the weekend. Yes tanks are quickly becoming obsolete due to drone warfare.
I wouldn't say that military has been "caught" flat footed because that implies complacency. I would say the dynamics of drone warfare are changing faster than we can adapt.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 12:53 pm to armytiger96
Think about advances that could produce drones as small as individual bullets. It could literally shoot individuals like a magic bullet.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:07 pm to Topwater Trout
quote:
how many were launched and how many hit US targets?
The 7 servicemen killed at the opening of the war were killed by a drone in a command center in Kuwait. Not sure about how many were launched, but this one hurt.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:10 pm to weagle1999
No, by nature, the shite is hard to stop, i.e., Ukraine derp.....
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:10 pm to MikeD
quote:Wrong. They make money stopping drones.
Military industrial complex can’t get rich making drones.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:16 pm to nealnan8
i forgot that was a drone...yeh that sucked
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:19 pm to weagle1999
quote:
Or maybe that is my wrong impression.
nailed it.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:20 pm to weagle1999
Small, easily deployable EMP weapons. That strikes me as something some defense contractor can sell as a drone defense. Jamming won’t work on the fiber optic ones so we need somrwtjong like that.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:28 pm to ninthward
quote:
Wrong. They make money stopping drones.
I think that’s the problem.
200k to shoot down a 20k drone.
It’s the federal bean counters vs the domestic drone stoppers. Too expense be.
We would now be reliant on outsourced drones and drone stopping tech.
Posted on 4/14/26 at 1:30 pm to weagle1999
I went to JPME in 2012. I wrote a paper about the threat of drone warfare. I talked about the benefits and dangers of using them in asymmetrical warfare. The problem has been effective counter drone technology. If only a few drones make it through your defenses, they can still do a great deal of damage.
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