As Drones Swarm Battlefields, Militaries Seek Cheaper Defenses

(Bloomberg) — The proliferation of uncrewed systems in the Ukraine-Russia war has highlighted the importance of drone defense capabilities. But the dilemma militaries around the world face is that the attack weapons tend to be far cheaper than the response to destroy them.

Drone costs can range from just a few hundred to several thousand dollars, and their price tag is rapidly depreciating as innovation and mass production pick up. That’s a fraction of the outlays for most air defense missiles, which at the high end command price tags of tens of…