Comment by nostrademons
6 hours ago
I don't think it's pork. Drones have proven their usefulness on the modern battlefield, and those million drones probably cost about as much as about a squadron of F-22s. In a battle between a million drones and 10 F-22s, I'd bet on the drones.
I do think that they're making a mistake by considering drones as ammunition rather than as ammunition delivery vehicles. Because the next phase of the conflict, after both sides have a million drones, comes down to who has better software. If one side has a million drones and the other side is stuck with traditional military hardware like tanks and helicopters and fighter jets, the side with a million drones wins, just like how in WW2, if one side had an aircraft carrier and the other side had a fleet of battleships, the aircraft carrier won. But as soon as both sides started having aircraft carriers, things like the quality of the pilots and planes started mattering. Same here - once you have drone parity, the side with the better software wins.
> In a battle between a million drones and 10 F-22s, I'd bet on the drones.
This is not how militaries work. Military forces exist to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses. Combat is literally the ultimate team sport. A world full of drones still has a need for F-22s or similar. Just with proper short-range air defenses around their airfields.
It's not who has the coolest piece of gear; it's who can employ everything and everyone they have in the most effective fashion to accomplish the goal of national leadership.
I don't disagree, but economies also function on tradeoffs. At some point you have to decide whether you allocate the productive capacity of the economy to F-22s or to drones. That "most effective fashion" changes as the technology level of the economy changes.
nostrademons says >" In a battle between a million drones and 10 F-22s, I'd bet on the drones."<
Timing!
F-22s could destroy drone factories, drone manufacturers' supply chains, factories, etc. A million drones don't just appear in the air battle-ready. And vice-versa.
So it boils down to timing and finding the right tool for the job.
However it's certainly easier to spread drone manufacturing out. And multiple sources for the same part versus F-22s convoluted and highly specialised supply chain.
Turns out when you don't have a human in an aircraft that you need to keep alive, you can get away without a lot.
I Ukraine would have had 10 F-22s with munitions and supply chain the war would have ended long ago.