The Dangerous Economics of Drone Warfare

Israel and the US along with the UK, France and Jordan almost completely disrupted last weekend’s massive airborne attack by Iran. The volley of 300 drones and missiles fired at Israel—retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike on the Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria—was telegraphed by Tehran in the days beforehand, leaving Israel and its allies time to prepare. Still, the attack’s unprecedented scale illustrated how inexpensive drone technology has changed the nature of modern warfare. The strategic benefit of small drones has already been made plain during two years...