Drone-killing costs must come down, says Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer

[rangerrebew]

Drone-killing costs must come down, says Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer
By Colin Demarest
 Thursday, Apr 25
 
The price tag for weapons and munitions used to destroy drones must come down, as the costs are “getting too expensive” and uncrewed systems are expected to saturate battlefields, according to the Pentagon’s acquisition boss.

U.S. troops have for years batted down attack and reconnaissance drones, often by using pricey ordnance. Ongoing intercepts of drones launched by the Yemen-based Houthi militant group in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are reliant on multimillion-dollar missiles, among other arms.


Bill LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said April 24 during a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington that “cost curve matters” in counter-drone operations.

The goal is to get the cost down to approximately tens of thousands of dollars per round, he added, noting a price exceeding $100,000 a shot is “getting too expensive.”

https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/uas/2024/04/25/drone-killing-costs-must-come-down-says-pentagons-chief-weapons-buyer/

[rangerrebew]

Gee, Mr. Chief buyer, you don't suppose those high costs have anything to do with the boss's economic policies by any chance, do you?

[DB]

Mine the sky with cheap drones... Make that cover practically impossible to navigate through.