Politico: U.S. Falls Significantly Behind Russia and Ukraine in Drone Development

According to a report by Politico, the American military lags behind its Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the development and deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

"U.S. forces are not close to developing, let alone deploying, the unimaginable arsenal of modern drones mastered by Ukrainians and Russians," the publication states.

The article highlights that this includes, in particular, kamikaze UAVs, ground-based drones, and larger UAVs capable of ferrying smaller drones across the front line.

"We are very, very behind," Stacy Pettijohn, Director of Defense Programs at the New American Security think tank, told the publication.

She explained that the main issue with adopting drones into the U.S. military is the lack of affordable or high-quality options. Additionally, she noted that the country does not have an industrial base capable of producing such drones.

In May, The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Army plans to significantly increase the use of UAVs, equipping each division with thousands of these devices.

According to the publication, these innovations are to be implemented as part of a major overhaul of the U.S. armed forces, which could cost around $36 billion over the next five years.