The $500 Air Force
Why Cheap Drones Are Breaking Military Economics
War has always been shaped by technology. But every so often, a new tool does more than change tactics, it breaks the economic logic of warfare itself.
The machine gun did it in World War I.
The improvised explosive device did it in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Today, the culprit is a small buzzing object that can be bought online for the price of a used laptop.
The modern battlefield is increasingly dominated by what might be called the $500 Air Force.
Cheap drones, especially First Person View (FPV) drones and loitering munitions, are rewriting the cost equation of war. In Ukraine, in the Middle East, in the Red Sea, and increasingly in Asia, militaries are discovering something uncomfortable.
The offense has become radically cheaper than the defense.
And once that happens, entire military doctrines begin to wobble.
