[btbuildem]

> Drones cannot be massed because they interfere with one another in the electromagnetic spectrum. They also require a significant number of people to operate compared to artillery.

I think we've all seen these drone shows, where a large swarm maneuvers to make shapes in the sky, right? We're not far at all from one operator controlling a swarm, capable of pre-programmed formations and maneuvers.

The economies of scale work overwhelmingly in favour of drones -- small, light, disposable.

[createdapril24]

In theory, sure, but those swarm shows are pre-programmed: they aren't reacting dynamically to a (chaotic) situation on the ground and they aren't communicating with operators.

There's some far-flung future in which drones are fully autonomous and in fact don't even need antennas. At that point it's possible they can be massed. But it's a bit of a science fiction. At least, there isn't any such product available (commercial or military) and this isn't how drones are being used in war.

For economies of scale - true also of artillery and other equipment! The more you can scale production the more cost-effective the weapon. As mentioned, drones in the Russo-Ukraine war are starting to see their cost-effectiveness wane due to having to become larger (larger munitions, large antennas, etc), heaver (bigger batteries, larger munitions, etc), and non-disposable (high cost frequency hopping gear, difficult to find munitions, difficult to source batteries, etc).

Giant technological leaps could happen, but it's nerve wracking to bet the outcome of a war on something like that.

[yencabulator]

Meanwhile, the front line troops are reporting that almost all the drones are FPV guided. Computer vision apparently just isn't good enough to fly in through a doorway, like the FPV drones are used.

(Sure, you could make a cluster of GPUs do that, in a test. It's completely different to do it in war.)