The US Must Stop Underestimating Drone Warfare

The document argues that low-cost, commercially derived drones and AI-enabled swarms have reshaped warfare and will likely enable a U.S. attack in 2026, citing recent operations in Ukraine, Israel, and the Red Sea as evidence. It asserts that U.S. military and civilian infrastructure are unprepared to repel complex drone assaults due to bureaucratic inertia and limited funding, contrasting this with Ukraine’s rapid mass production of FPV drones and operational success. The piece highlights a mismatch between U.S. procurement scale and adversaries’ capabilities, warning of imminent risk to both civilian and military targets.