[hnu123]

> I assume this is what it was like in the World War I & II era watching tanks being developed.

A better analogy would be the airplane as it had dual civilian-military uses like the drone. Whereas a tank is solely a military use vehicle.

But the drone definitely has the ability to change war like the airplane did. Especially drone swarms backed by AI. You could buy 100,000 drones for the price of a single jet fighter. Imagine millions or even billions of drones fighting to take control over a city.

[borissk]

A tank is basically a tractor with a gun attached :)

[semi-extrinsic]

Exactly this, an important part of the origin of the tank was the tractor made by the Holt company, which today is Caterpillar. The first German and French tanks in WWI were modified Holt tractors, and the unmodified machines saw widespread use for pulling artillery guns.

The reason for Caterpillar pivoting towards construction equipment after WWI is that they had essentially only made military equipment during the war, so their equipment gradually shifted towards larger and heavier machines. When peace came, their products were too heavy to be used as farm equipment, but perfect for construction.

[imtringued]

You mean it's like artillery but more expensive and less effective?

[nicbou]

Except that the shell can deliver itself through a house window, with no gun noise signature.