Jun 25, 2019, 10:22am
Five Sobering Lessons From Iran's Downing Of America's Most Capable Drone
Loren Thompson
Iran's destruction of a U.S. Global Hawk unmanned aircraft with a surface-to-air missile near the Strait of Hormuz should be a wake-up call for proponents of autonomous or remotely-piloted warfighting systems. The era of drone warfare is not upon us, because the vehicles currently available for military purposes are too limited in their capabilities to survive combat with a reasonably well-equipped adversary.
Drones became popular in military circles at a time when the U.S. was fighting adversaries who lacked air forces or air defenses. That has led some observers to over-estimate their near-term utility in warfare. With U.S. defense strategy now shifted from a focus on irregular forces (like ISIS) to great-power competition, the relevance of unmanned systems to fighting and winning wars has become less clear.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2019/06/25/five-sobering-lessons-from-irans-shoot-down-of-americas-most-capable-drone/#6def686b7da5
