MAINTAINING A VARIED TOOLKIT
The first thing to understand is that drones are simply unmanned assets that can function without a human operator on board and aerial drones, in this case, can fulfil a variety of battlefield roles.
High-end UAVs like General Atomics’ MQ-9A Reaper can perform complex tasks such as Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and strike missions – roles traditionally fulfilled by manned systems.
On the other end of the spectrum are cheap “kamikaze” drones such as the Iranian-made Shahed-136, which has been extensively employed by Russia in the war in Ukraine. While the latter are qualitatively inferior, they can be produced at a fraction of the cost, or even with 3D printers – an attractive prospect for actors looking to obtain a battlefield edge on a shoestring budget.
The flexibility that UAVs possess means that there is no “one-size-fits-all” drone strategy. Depending on how they are used, UAVs could be seen as substitutes for their manned counterparts, more efficient alternatives to existing hardware, or even as munition themselves.
For instance, the addition of cheap First Person View drones to the average Ukrainian infantry section’s arsenal has allowed them to hunt and destroy Russian tanks from greater distances, providing a safer alternative to typical options such as shoulder-launched projectile systems, which require the operator to be in the line of fire.
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