Any nation or group that thinks that it can fight the US using drones as a key part of asymmetric warfare is in for a rude awakening.
No one, and I mean NO ONE, does Electronic/ Information Warfare like the United States. We hack the world constantly, not to do any harm but to ensure that we can if we ever need to.
If we want you, we will find you, regardless of where you go. You might get away if you, and EVERYONE you come in contact with, completely disconnects from anything and everything electronic. No internet, nothing that connects to the internet, no phones, no cable TV, well, you get the point.
SpyNavy
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
-—we can find you! Did you catch that brief news story yesterday about Trump sending a Roman Candle into an ISIS cave? Hiding out in a hole in the ground, counting ones beads, just ain’t wot it used to be. Even if those guys left their pagers home I’ll bet we could find them with a sniffalizer. Just set it on “billy goat”?
Epic post in exciting times tag!
EWS...If we can drop the drones with E.W. or a Electro Magnetic pulse 100 miles out, or get control of their navigation systems and have them descend to sea level(Plunk!) or send them out to waste fuel or drain their batteries until they drop while looking for a phantom target It is definately preferable to close naval combat.
We could just take a pass on this laser system--probably pretty expensive-- and rely on Marines with shotguns to take out any thing that manages to get through. ;)
(Of course, its not like USN naval vessels don't have a substantal selection of other robust weapons systems to call on for various situations, provided the people up at the top of the chain of command have the will to act.)