Darrell Owens
The next war may not start with missiles or boots on the ground. It could begin with small, undetectable drones that rain destruction on America’s most vital infrastructure.
In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have evolved rapidly in sophistication. But by and large, our defenses against them have not. And if the situation persists, it could lead to catastrophe.
We don’t need to look far to see how drone warfare is reshaping conflicts. On the battlefields of Ukraine, UAVs have revolutionized combat, leveled the playing field for Ukraine’s defenders, allowing Kyiv to strike back at Russian forces and the Russian homeland, and providing new intelligence-gathering capabilities. These advantages are working the other way as well, with Russian forces augmented by Iranian-origin suicide drones that have allowed Moscow to strike deep into Ukrainian territory.
The Ukraine war is a portent of things to come. Gone are the days of expensive overhead aerial reconnaissance and dangerous scouting missions. Today, small first-person drones flood the battlefield. These multi-role drones are fast, cheap, easy to train on, and extremely difficult to detect and defeat. They help with artillery targeting, conduct battle damage assessments, drop ordinance on vehicles, or be used as a weapon directly. That’s why leading technologists like former Google CEO Eric Schmidt have argued that the U.S. Army should be developing drones instead of tanks.
The problem is acute—and a distinct threat to U.S. security. Picture a group of foreign-backed terrorists deploying a swarm of explosive-laden drones over a busy U.S. airport. In mere minutes, these nearly invisible machines could destroy an airplane on the runway, claiming lives and paralyzing air travel nationwide.
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