EXPLAINER: Britain's £5 billion drone gamble
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Hello, Patrick Sanders here. Today we're bringing you something extra from the General and the Journalist. Our colleague, Mark Urban from the Sunday Times, looks at Britain's five billion pound bet on uncrewed warfare.
Why is Britain betting £5 billion on uncrewed warfare?
Could fleets of automated vessels really replace major warships, or are we simply swapping cost for vulnerability? Here's Mark.
Globally, the competition for military supremacy is intensified. The generals want the tech and the big defence contractors want the cash. They've already weaponised the buzzwords, AI, autonomy, and targeting networks. And right now the technology really hogging the limelight is the type that doesn't need a crew and can be controlled remotely. Drones have become very versatile and have a lot of uses on the battlefield, and they're being discussed to the point of distraction. Still, that's how the UK has chosen to headline its new defence investment plan as a £5 billion bet on uncrewed systems. So is Britain setting itself up to be at the forefront of a digital and autonomous warfare revolution? Or could this expensive gambling?
end up hobbling the armed forces. From the front line to its strikes deep inside Russia, it's Ukraine that has elevated drone warfare into the deadly powerhouse that it is today. They've taken a long established principle that control of the air can equate to victory, and they've achieved that without risking pilots over enemy territory. And the Russians have innovated too. Their aerial control of great swathes of Eastern Europe. Ukraine has created sterile zones where anyone who moves can be killed with the press of a button. Let's talk about drones. They're so deadly and numerous that Ukraine is keeping the human crews that operate them well back from the front lines. In their place, a robotic revolution.
Uncrewed ambulances and remote-controlled assault vehicles are now often doing the heavy lifting. And if you look at But Ukraine and the way Iran has been fighting recently, it proves that a basic craft built for a single purpose, be that striking an oil refinery or clearing a trench, is far simpler and more affordable than the type of piloted fighters or tanks traditionally bought by the West. Add in more advanced functions to the simple machines being used in Ukraine and the bill goes up.
Early today, Russia got hammered by Ukraine, the largest attack on the capital city of Moscow since Russia invaded its neighbor more than four years ago.
The train can hit Moscow with drones that cost £100,000 a pop. But if you want a cruise missile that flies faster and is stealthier to do the job, immediately you're spending over £1 million per missile. Or if you want a reusable aircraft that can orbit over a battlefield for hours, carry a variety of weapons, and have its own sensors for hunting targets, for that there's the American American Reaper or British Protector, for example. They are drones too, but will cost you £30 million. And if you want to make that as survivable as an F-35 fighter with stealth technology, in-flight refuelling and high maneuverability, you might add many millions more per jet to the cost.
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