U.S. Learns, Very Slowly, from Ukraine Drone Experience
But it may take many costly financial stings—or even war—for the U.S. to move dramatically towards scalable and attritable drone tech
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the U.S. Army to prepare for the kind of drone warfare the Ukrainian military is waging as it defends against the invading Russians—by eliminating middleweight armored vehicles, and adding 1,000 drones to each of the Army’s divisions.
There are 18 divisions in the American Army. So in theory, there are 18,000 unmanned aerial systems (UAS) in the Pentagon’s new plan for the Army.
That might seem like a lot. But these drones represent just one day of drone expenditures by Ukraine’s roughly 100 ground combat brigades and their supporting UAS teams.
It may take a crisis to compel the Army to truly embrace small drones, and deploy them on the necessary scale and with all the support they require, said Kerry Chávez, an assistant professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“Short of a tectonic cultural shift,” she said, “it would take war.”
The Pentagon and DOD are not known for fighting the next war. Or, the current wars as they are unfolding. This effort will result in massively expensive weapons systems delivered years in the future.