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Small Drones Force New Thinking on Air Superiority, Slife Says

July 29, 2024 | By Chris Gordon

The U.S. Air Force needs to rethink how small, low-cost drones could change the definition of air superiority, Vice Chief of Staff Gen. James C. Slife said on July 29.

Small drones have become a defining feature of the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides fielding drones and cheap quadcopters for strikes and reconnaissance. In Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, small drones—along with rockets and missiles—are regularly used to harass U.S. and allied forces, in some cases injuring and even killing American troops. In January, an Iranian-aligned militia killed three U.S. troops in Jordan with a drone at Tower 22, a remote U.S. base that lacked its own robust defenses.

“We used to make the claim that since 1953 no American has been killed by air attack,” Slife said. “We can’t make that claim anymore. It calls into question, ‘What does air superiority actually look like?’ [Does] it look like 30,000 feet over the Yalu River in 1953 or does it look like below 3,000 feet with quadcopters with a hand grenade slung to the bottom of them? I think the answer is: It’s all of the above.”

Drones are hard to detect, flying low and presenting a minimal radar cross-section. They also can be used en masse by more sophisticated adversaries, posing serious dilemmas for the Air Force and America’s allies. And they force the U.S. and allies to counter them with high-priced weapons, imposing disproportionate costs.

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