The Missile Lesson the West Can’t Ignore

[mystery-ak]

The Missile Lesson the West Can’t Ignore

A new form of warfare is emerging—one where quantity and cost may matter as much as technological sophistication.

S. R. Piccoli | March 17, 2026

For decades, Western military doctrine has rested on a comforting assumption: technological superiority would guarantee dominance on the battlefield. Advanced missile defenses, integrated sensor networks, and sophisticated command systems were supposed to create something close to an impenetrable shield over the world’s most developed nations.

The ongoing confrontation between Israel and Iran is beginning to challenge that assumption.

Israel fields one of the most advanced missile defense architectures ever constructed. Its layered system — including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and the Arrow interceptors — was designed to counter a wide spectrum of threats, from short-range rockets to long-range ballistic missiles.

So far, those systems have performed remarkably well. The vast majority of incoming projectiles are intercepted.

But recent events are revealing a strategic vulnerability that military planners have long understood in theory: even the most advanced defensive systems can be strained by attacks designed not for precision, but for volume.

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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/03/the_missile_lesson_the_west_can_t_ignore.html

[Smokin Joe]

I said, early on in the discussion of drones for combat, and I reiterate:

Quantity has a quality all its own.

From politics to the battlefield, overwhelming enemy systems is a workable strategy, given that there are sufficient numbers of systems or even troops to sacrifice in doing so.

The mob that stormed the Bastille did not have superior weapons, the Sherman Tank was arguably inferior to German armor, Russian troops turned the soil of the Eastern Front red, but they prevailed, each by individual courage and sheer force of numbers, as those who fight asymmetrical wars in other conflicts have done.

Multilayered defenses are key to surviving such onslaughts, as well as interdiction at the source.

[Free Vulcan]

And tech inherently trickles down as it's mass produced to become cheaper to second tier and lower nations, and in the case of drones require less support systems to launch them. A couple of small teams can wreak havoc on targets and assets.

[Smokin Joe]

And tech inherently trickles down as it's mass produced to become cheaper to second tier and lower nations, and in the case of drones require less support systems to launch them. A couple of small teams can wreak havoc on targets and assets.

That's the asymmetry. For $100K and risking maybe a couple hundred 'troops' in small teams, billions in damages can be done, limited by the power of the warhead and what secondary explosions/fire can be induced.

All the more reason to limit nuclear expansion, especially among those who would send their women onto trains and buses and into markets with bomb vests on.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The future will be crazy... our drones will blot out the sun!