WASHINGTON () U.S. officials say they want to stay one step ahead of countries like Russia and China as tools of war develop over time.
The Trump administration has been looking to expand the number and types of drones the U.S. military can use to defend American bases, forces and interests. President Donald Trump has also signed an executive order on the matter to get rid of the red tape surrounding drone operations.
The order will likely surge drone production as the administration looks to make a lot of drones at a low cost and do it with American-made parts and production.
Drones could be anything from small ones a hobbyist uses to ones that are the size of a truck. Some gather intel, carry weapons or even counter other drones, changing the future of warfare.
“During World War II, we were talking about putting humans on the front lines, and what you saw during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is that we started to use some drones, some unmanned capabilities,” Emil Michael, undersecretary for defense for research and engineering, said. “We had something called the ‘predator drone’ in 2009 and 2010, which was about $25 million and could stay in the air for about a day. Today, we have systems that are about $2 million and can stay in the air for nine days.”
Michael added that advancements in Ukraine, with most of the war’s casualties being from drones, show that the technology is becoming the new front line.
