During the past four years, drones have gone from a battlefield curiosity to the defining weapon of modern conflict.
Russia and Ukraine now launch thousands of cheap, expendable drones against each other to hit infrastructure and troops. Their use has changed the nature of war, with attacks on economic nodes farther from the frontline becoming a more regular feature of the conflict.
The U.S. has used one-way attack drones and unmanned surface vessels in strikes on Iranian targets. Tehran, in turn, has fired drones against U.S. military targets and allies across the Middle East.
The White House’s new drone tariffs and the Pentagon’s creation of a multinational attack drone task force announced this week signal a coordinated shift in how the United States intends to fight future conflicts and rebuild its defense industrial base.
Washington is now treating drones the way it treated semiconductors, as a national strategic asset that must be reshored.
