“It’s something that we can see that is going to be a problem, and we have some defenses, but not enough.”ĭubbed kamikaze, suicide or killer drones, these unmanned aircraft don’t fire missiles - they are the missiles. “I think this is going to be the new IED,” or improvised explosive device, said Shaan Shaikh, a missile expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. troops, but it could also put them - and Americans at home - in great danger from terrorists or nation-states that haven’t previously had access to such lethal and affordable technology.

That capability could help save the lives of U.S. They can leapfrog traditional defenses to strike infantry troops anywhere on the battlefield, and they cost just $6,000 apiece, compared to $150,000 for the Hellfire missile typically fired by Predator or Reaper drones. Some experts believe the spread of the semi-autonomous weapons will change ground warfare as profoundly as the machine gun did.

An AeroVironment operator prepares to launch the Switchblade drone at Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground.

A revolution in unmanned aerial vehicles is unfolding, and the U.S.

Military drone tank artstation