- Cheap drones have been used to destroy expensive systems like tanks in the Ukraine war.
- US military leaders are watching this trend closely and evaluating the threat for future conflicts.
- The Army secretary said it's not worth it to buy expensive weapons if they're vulnerable to drones.
The US can't keep building and buying expensive weapons that are vulnerable to drones that are produced at a fraction of the cost, the Army secretary said.
"We keep creating and purchasing these exquisite machines that very cheap drones can take out," Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said during an episode of the "War on the Rocks" podcast that aired Tuesday.
"If the number is even remotely right, that Russia has manufactured 1 million drones in the last 12 months, that just makes us have to rethink the cost of what we're buying," he continued.
"We are the wealthiest nation, perhaps in the history of the world, but even we can't sustain a couple-million-dollar piece of equipment that can be taken out with an $800 drone and munition," he said.
Driscoll was responding to a question about whether the US military was walking away from the Robotic Combat Vehicle. He said that while the concept was valuable, the cost ratio didn't work.
The US military has been watching the war in Ukraine, where cheap drones packed with explosives are damaging or destroying expensive combat equipment like tanks, other armored vehicles, air defenses, and even warships, highlighting the vulnerability of larger and more prized weapons that are insufficiently defended.
The proliferation of cheap drones — some of which cost as little as a few hundred dollars — has become a growing concern for the US military as it readies for the possibility of a large-scale confrontation between NATO and Russia in Europe or a fight with China in the Pacific.
Moscow said it produced 1.5 million drones last year. A Ukrainian tank commander called Russian drones a major threat to his American-made M1 Abrams tank, which costs about $10 million.
Ukraine has outfitted its Abrams tanks and other systems, including European-made tanks and American-made armored fighting vehicles, with additional armor to help protect the expensive equipment from drones, but it's not a perfect solution.
Armored vehicle losses in this war have been high. Ukraine, for example, has lost more than 4,400 armored vehicles, while Russia has lost more than 12,600, according to Oryx, an open-source intelligence site that tracks military equipment losses on both sides.
And drones aren't just a threat to land assets. Ukrainian naval drones packed with explosives have wreaked havoc on Russia's Black Sea Fleet. These drones have even been upgraded to launch missiles. Ukraine said one managed to take down two of Russia's $50 million Su-30 fighter jets over the weekend.
