Pentagon Gets Serious About Drones

DOD Sec Hegseth may be constantly savaged by Dems for his limited experience as a Swamp Rat but WSJ gave him kudos “for putting down a marker” that promises to out drone America’s enemies and embracing “rapid technological changes” in the way futurist GIs fight.

Give some credit to the entire Trump Administration, the paper’s editors add, saying it is showing it’s learned many “lessons from Ukraine’s war with Russia.” Secretary Hegseth, they pointed out, had just “put out a video unveiling drone deregulation for the U.S. military. And, while he may have been putting on a “show” for Trump supporters, “the Pentagon’s play is welcome and crucial for preparing American forces for a future fight.”

“Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year’s casualties in Ukraine,” Hegseth recently wrote. “Our adversaries produce millions of cheap drones each year.” And, the editors agreed, “Anyone awake to the Ukraine war knowsdrones dominate the front lines, and Russia is churning out copies with a heavy assist from Chinese parts.” The key, the WSJ says, is that the Pentagon wisely is rescinding internal red tape “that hindered production and limited access to these vital technologies.” It also “devolves more ability to experiment to the rank equivalent of U.S. Army colonels in the field.” The goal? Every U.S. Army squad “will have low-cost, expendable drones by the end of 2026.” And, Pacific combat units will be the priority. Wasn’t the U.S. love affair with armored tanks that came out of lessons learned in WWI that greatly helped win WWII?

Davd Soul