Despite Ukraine demonstrating that cheap drones are the future of warfare, 2026's wars show some people still haven't got the message.
Despite Ukraine demonstrating that cheap drones are the future of warfare, 2026's wars show some people still haven't got the message. - Futurology Today
"The Russians had lost an estimated 3,000 tanks in the previous year, along with 9,000 armored vehicles, 13,000 artillery systems, and more than 400 air-defense systems, Cavoli said in written testimony. The main weapon that the Ukrainians had used to inflict this damage was the suicide drone, which costs about $400 to make……………….“It’s Ukrainian housewives,” Papperger (CEO Rheinmetall, Germany’s biggest arms manufacturer) said of their factories. “They have 3-D printers in the kitchen, and they produce parts for drones,” he said. “This is not innovation.” Mr. Papperger needs to look up the meaning of the word ‘innovation’. Upending the decades-long paradigm of tank warfare, with decentralized, cheap production that people can do from home with 3D printers, is about as innovative as innovation gets. But when your job depends on selling tanks ……. Also, the specifics here mask a broader 21st-century trend. Decentralization. What used to be “heavy industry” and “national energy grids” can more and more be done by home solar energy and 3-D printers. Building Tanks While the Ukrainians Master Drones: Ukrainian drones have made artillery and armored vehicles look obsolete. Why is the world still buying them? [https://archive.ph/cM9kn]