[dragontamer]

Not new. These drones were in production in Iran since 2016 after the capture of the downed Reaper Drone in 2011.

What is new is Irans willingness to use them. Which skyrocketed after a few missiles assassinated their supreme leader.

[ozim]

The part where you are wrong is not that reaper or other highly sophisticated drones were available in 2011.

In 2026 we have swarms of cheap drones that are fire and forget and they are cheap for mass production.

That’s totally different game.

[bulbar]

So you are saying the US just showed to the world that it is not prepared for modern warfare?

[ozim]

Huh me?

Nope I think that's nothing new and that was already in the news like months ago when countries started asking Ukraine to buy drone warfare know-how.

[bulbar]

Really not sure how to interpret this thread. I could buy a drone for 100 bucks 10 years ago.

Using cheap drones for asymmetric warfare can't be new or surprising for a country with a supposed vast intelligence network. Or for a country that's supposed to have a modern military which means having effective answers to what an enemy throws at you in battle.

[ozim]

My favorite example is how NATO recognized cyberspace as operational domain in 2016 — like no one there watched or heard about a movie from 1983 called „War Games”.

I think you vastly overestimate speed with which people acknowledge new facts.

Second best is only Catholic Church fully acknowledging heliocentric theories in 1992.

[fc417fc802]

> can't be new or surprising

Indeed it isn't. The military has been doing cheap drone swarm research since well before ukraine. But I think that for everyone - including the military - whether or not the people in charge update their worldviews is an entirely separate matter.