How the Pentagon Nickel-and-Dimed Its Way Into Losing a Drone
By Patrick Tucker Technology Editor Read bio
June 20, 2019
The lion’s share of the U.S. drone fleet is easy prey for advanced air defenses. It didn’t have to be that way.
Wednesday’s downing of a U.S. drone by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard exposes a weakness in U.S. operations. The United States has some of the world’s most sophisticated drones for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. But they were designed for past wars, for use against insurgent forces such as ISIS or the Taliban that cannot track and destroy high-flying aircraft. Iran and other potential adversaries, by contrast, have radar and missiles that can turn some of the U.S. military’s most important drones into expensive, conspicuous targets.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2019/06/how-pentagon-nickel-and-dimed-its-way-losing-drone/157901/?oref=d-river
