The issue, though, is not just one of pursuing new innovations in weaponry. Expecting modern warfare to play out the way the Pentagon plans is a risk that has to be addressed head-on.
The Pentagon must plan for the worst day of war, not the best."
We’ll need to look to Israel. Due to lack of resources the Israelis have invested heavily in drones. They are the largest producer of drones in the world. I suspect that if there’s a war with Iran the Israelis will rely mostly on drones. Cheap, cost effective and disposable, they’ll likely run rings around manned aircraft. And, if you lose them at a ratio of one to one, who cares. The economics work out. You don’t risk having a pilot being captured and used to torture your side with heart-rending videos.
We should be investing in pilotless drones, brilliant mines and space technology. Instead we’re investing in upgraded world war two concepts like aircraft carriers. Our huge Navy is mostly to protect them. Knock them out and the rest of the Navy is without a job.
I recently read that for the cost of one aircraft carrier China could build over a million drones. Flood the air with just a fraction of that number and one will get through and do the job.
Bush 1 wanted to replace aircraft carriers with submergible bombardment platforms that were mostly automated. While admirals delivered the pitch to Congress senior captains visited each Senator and Representative to tell them what a bad idea it was. The plan was to replace entire carrier battle groups with this largely automated and essentially disposable platform that could deliver substantially more ordinance.