Costco Drones Cause US Military to Battle

Late in 2019, US military sensors identified an oncoming enemy Drones over an Iraqi facility where US Marines were stationed. The troops were jittery since their base was exposed and unprotected. According to sources acquainted with the situation, the detection technology produced a grainy image but showed that the object was approaching. A costly counter-missile was launched by US forces, which circled the target twice before detonating in mid-air to avoid a ground explosion.

Defence officials later assessed that the inbound threat was not, after all, a lethally armed Drones designed to murder US troops, following closer scrutiny. It was a balloon, of course. For its global war on terror, the United States has been a pioneer in the employment of huge killer Drones. Extremely sophisticated weaponry, such as hypersonics, lasers, and missile defenses, now dominate much of the discussion about warfare.

However, the balloon incident demonstrated the United States’ inability to protect against, or even recognize, smaller weaponized Drones. These low-tech, low-cost hostile are quickly becoming one of the most severe challenges to America’s military. Despite a major push, Frank McKenzie, the four-star Marine Corps general in charge of US troops in the Middle East, says the US is still under-equipped to deal with the threat, which first surfaced as a serious issue.

McKenzie adds that while situations like the accidental missile attack on the balloon are rare, “they do happen,” and that US forces occasionally err on the side of caution. McKenzie, like other senior US defense officials, sees Drones warfare as the country’s new “IED moment.” IEDs, or homemade roadside bombs, have killed over 2,000 US service members in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2006, accounting for 45 percent of all US deaths in conflict zones.