When a $300 commercial drone went head-to-head with a $3m Patriot missile, it was only going to end one way.
“That quadcopter [...] did not stand a chance,” said David Perkins, an American army general, revealing that a US ally made the strike.
“On the kinetic exchange ratio, the Patriot won,” Perkins told an audience at a military symposium, adding. “I’m not sure that’s a good economic exchange ratio.”
“In fact, if I’m the enemy, I’m thinking: ‘Hey, I’m just gonna get on eBay and buy as many of these $300 quadcopters as I can and expend all the Patriot missiles out there.’”
Justin Bronk, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute, described the strike as “clearly enormous overkill” in an interview with the BBC.
Some groups have reportedly started converting commercial drones into bombers to fight security forces.
Perkins announced that the US army is now exploring ways of combatting drones using cyber warfare, in addition to “kinetic” approaches.