By Abdulkareem Haruna


The U.S. military must reassess its acquisition strategy, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll warned, as the proliferation of inexpensive drones poses an increasing threat to costly, advanced weapons systems.


Speaking on the “War on the Rocks” podcast, Driscoll expressed concern that the U.S. continues to develop and procure “exquisite machines” vulnerable to drones produced at a fraction of the cost. “We are the wealthiest nation, perhaps in the history of the world, but even we can’t sustain a couple-million-dollar piece of equipment that can be taken out with an $800 drone and munition,” Driscoll said in the Tuesday broadcast.


His comments came in response to a question regarding the future of the Robotic Combat Vehicle program, with Driscoll suggesting that the cost-benefit analysis no longer favored such expensive projects.


The secretary cited the ongoing conflict in Ukraine as a stark illustration of the problem. The Ukrainian battlefield has witnessed the devastating impact of cheap, explosive-laden drones on high-value military assets,

including tanks, armored vehicles, and air defense systems. The vulnerability of these systems has prompted a reevaluation of traditional military procurement, he said.
“If the number is even remotely right, that Russia has manufactured 1 million drones in the last 12 months, that just makes us have to rethink the cost of what we’re buying,” Driscoll stated.


The rise of inexpensive drones, some costing only hundreds of dollars, has become a significant concern for U.S. military planners as they consider potential conflicts with Russia in Europe or China in the Pacific. Moscow has claimed production of 1.5 million drones in the past year.


The vulnerability of advanced systems, such as the U.S.-provided M1 Abrams tank, which carries a price tag of roughly $10 million, has been highlighted by Ukrainian accounts. Ukrainian forces have attempted to mitigate the drone threat by adding supplemental armor to their tanks and armored vehicles, but these measures have proven insufficient.


Open-source intelligence indicates substantial armored vehicle losses on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict, with Oryx, a site tracking military equipment losses, reporting over 4,400 Ukrainian and 12,600 Russian armored vehicle losses.