Wartime need for drones would outstrip US production. There’s a way to fix that
The U.S. military needs to “mainstream” new operating concepts and get going with big orders, experts say.
Sam Skove | August 7, 2024
Drones Industry Army
If the U.S. Army found itself at war, American manufacturers would struggle to produce the large number of high-quality small drones that the service would likely need—unless the Pentagon increases its support for drone producers, and soon.
Army leaders at all levels are racing to incorporate small drones into operations, drawing on lessons from Ukrainian battlefields where small quadcopter-type aircraft are being used to great effect and in extraordinary numbers.
Some two years into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian companies are building one million first-person-view drones a year for use as loitering munitions—and that’s not counting other types like the thousands of reconnaissance quadcopters that the military has bought or received. In May 2023, Ukrainian forces were reported to be expending some 10,000 drones a month.
U.S. firms likely aren’t making enough to replace even half of that. Estimates of total domestic monthly production include the mid-single-digit thousands (David Benowitz, who leads research at drone market firm DroneAnalyst) or the low four-figures (Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute).
https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2024/08/wartime-need-drones-would-outstrip-us-production-theres-way-fix/398642/?oref=d1-skybox-hp
