The Morning Rant: Measures...Counter-Measures...Counter-Counter-Measures...

People who think about the evolution of warfare have sleepless nights worrying about drones. Israel and Ukraine are ground-zero for drone warfare...and the pace of technological change is breathtaking! In a few short years we have gone from large drones flying high, armed with a single missile or a few cameras, to swarms of drones with small explosive devices that can overwhelm defenses and destroy multi-million dollar equipment for a few hundred dollars, and reconnaissance drones the size of a paperback that zip around the battlefield providing data in real time (Hello, Yahya Sinwar.)

Counter-measures arrived quickly, which is unsurprising, since the evolution of warfare occurs most quickly during war! But until very recently, those counter-measures were very expensive in comparison to the drones themselves, which are often just modified civilian drones...essentially toys for grownups. Using a $million missile to shoot down a $10,000 drone is a temporary answer, and one that is unsupportable in the long-term. And the smaller, cheaper drones are difficult because of their size, even if an army could field enough missiles.

But along comes Israel's arms industry with an obvious but technologically difficult response: Lasers!

Killing drones for cents: World's first 100 kW combat laser ready for deployment

Israel plans to deploy its first operational high-power laser air-defense system by the end of the year, marking a significant shift in how the country counters drones, rockets, and other aerial threats, the Defense Ministry said.

The system, known as Iron Beam, completed operational testing in September and will become the world’s first combat-ready laser interceptor.

The 100-kilowatt system is designed to destroy targets within seconds and at a fraction of the cost of traditional missile-based defenses.

Drones have the capacity to do tremendous damage to technologically superior forces. Imagine a swarm of drones launched from near our B-2, B-52, or F-35 bases. A few hundred thousand dollars worth of easily procured hardware could conceivably destroy many billions of dollars worth of our almost irreplaceable weaponry in a matter of moments. This isn't World War II, where factories could produce thousands of tanks or planes each year. It takes about 18 months to build an F-35. How many can we afford to lose?

While my personal preference is for a bunch of Midwestern goose hunters to be drafted into the armed forces for drone hunting duty, the future of laser defense is assured. Drones aren't going away, and must be considered an integral part of both offensive and defensive operations.

It won't be long before those airbases are surrounded by a multi-layered defense system that includes lasers to defend against drones. The question is: what comes next? Laser weapons for infantry, or tanks, or helicopters?

[Crossposted at CutJibNewsletter and X/Twitter]. If you folks who are on X/Twitter would follow us it would be much appreciated!

posted by CBD at 11:00 AM

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