https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opin...AAWI4bX?cvid=159d977ffe824202be768de1de80dc6c Interesting analysis that seems pretty reasonable. Personally I think every military in the world is grossly overemphasizing drones though.
There is always an ebb and flow to these things. Before 9/11, carriers were going to be the future of our military. After 9/11, carriers had to take a back seat to boots on the ground. Drones have a lower cost of entry for a military, but unless you can figure out the best way to integrate them into your total mix, they are at best the next tool for terrorists to strike and run.
Drones made the sinking of the Moskva possible. We've sent Ukraine one of our latest, which can take out a half dozen tanks at a time. They're cheap, and they don't want a retirement check. They're the future.
Drones aren't glamorous and make for pretty dull war movies, which makes them unpopular. They are the future for advanced countries, though, especially since advances in medical science keep more and more wounded alive but crippled and a lot more visible to the public than before. This makes drones look a lot better than boots on the ground. And yes, I personally know there will always be a need for them, I also know drones will become more and more capable over time.
As a distraction, they did not actually sink it. The US would have done the same thing with conventional aircraft. Ukraine could not do that as they are highly limited in how and where they can operate their aircraft. And we sent Ukraine drones that can take out a half dozen tanks at once? Oh please, tell us what these miracle drones are.
Actually, most countries are still primarily using drones for observation, or against potential adversaries that are on the lower end of the technological scale. We know how effective they are against groups like ISIS, but we also saw what countries like Iran and a Russian backed Syria could do about them. If we get into another situation like Iraq-Afghanistan, drones will be very useful as there is nothing countries like that could do about them. But against an adversary like Russia, China, or Iran, do not expect them to be used all that much.
I said they made it possible. They did that by depleting their defenses, and the cruise missiles were timed to come in just after that.
As I said, nothing special. It is commonly done with conventional aircraft. In fact, the US has been doing the exact same tactic since the 1960's with "Wild Weasel" tactics.
