Wilson Beaver
Advances in drone technology and artificial intelligence seem destined to transform defense planning and budgeting. But we shouldn’t assume these innovations will render obsolete manned weapons systems.
It would be a strategic and costly mistake to cut the procurement of existing programs that we need in the short term. Given the real chance of great power conflict in the near future—well before new technologies now in the research and development phase are ready to use—the United States must continue fielding traditional combat-relevant systems and weapons while continuing to research and develop the next generation of defense technologies.
This isn’t a new conversation. In the 1920s, following the First World War, some analysts believed that the invention of tanks meant that dismounted infantry was a thing of the past. After the Second World War, some Air Force generals argued that warships were no longer needed thanks to advances in airpower. History shows how difficult it is to predict how transformative new technologies will be or how they will affect existing systems and operations.
A Strategy to Revitalize the Defense Industrial Base for the 21st Century
Today, air and sea drones are the current innovations that many believe will replace existing systems, such as manned warships and fighter aircraft. Already, some have called for scrapping procurement of existing warships and fighter jets entirely and focusing the defense budget on researching unmanned systems. Yet ongoing conflicts show that this would be a big mistake.
Consider the Russo–Ukrainian War and the most recent iteration of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In both cases, drones have played an outsized role, especially in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. In Ukraine, drones have been instrumental in spotting for artillery strikes and conducting kinetic strikes on opposing forces. But they cannot wage war on their own. In the modern land domain, » Read More
https://www.heritage.org/defense/commentary/drones-dont-render-traditional-weaponry-obsolete