[bawolff]

I can't read either of those because they are paywalled but ghe first paragraph of the first one doesn't seem to support your position.

In any case, almost everything i've read is that the majority of drones are shot down with APKWS, with a patriot sometimes used as a last resort if one gets through.

[ceejayoz]

Selected excerpts:

> In the statement, a Bahraini government spokesperson said the [Patriot] missile successfully intercepted an Iranian drone mid-air, saving lives.

> Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine have put a spotlight on how limited supplies of sophisticated missiles—including multimillion-dollar Patriot interceptors—are sometimes being used to defend against mass-produced drones that cost just a few thousand dollars.

> Gulf states are also spending big on the war. Nations including Saudi Arabia have launched multimillion-dollar Patriot interceptors and fired missiles from aircraft to take out Iranian drones.

The E-3 Sentry that got blown up was reportedly hit by drone. I'd guess they wish a Patriot had stopped that one.

[bawolff]

> Bahraini

Bahrain is not the usa. There are many reports that gulf states use patriot missiles much more freely than usa does.

> are sometimes being used to defend against mass-produced drones that cost just a few thousand dollars

"Sometimes" being the key word here. I think 1% of the time would technically constitute sometimes and changes the ecconomics considerably.

It should be noted the Shahed-136 drone that was mentioned above cost $100,000, not a couple thousand.

My position is not that it never happens, just that its relatively rare and a bit overblown in the media. Military does need to figure out better solutions, but the status quo is not use a patriot on every drone.

[ceejayoz]

> There are many reports that gulf states use patriot missiles much more freely than usa does.

I've seen the opposite claimed; that the US is surprisingly wasteful with their expensive ammo.

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/us...

"“Often they [the US and its allies] were firing thoughtlessly,” the officer said. “For example, they used SM-6 missiles — from a ship, a very good anti-missile missile. This missile costs about $6 million, and they used it to shoot down a Shahed costing $70,000.”"

> It should be noted the Shahed-136 drone that was mentioned above cost $100,000, not a couple thousand.

That's the marked-up export cost.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Shahed_136

"various estimates for domestic production cost range from $10,000 to $50,000"