General Discussion

They were using parts from a bicycle plant, among others, and rapidly producing drones for a couple of thousand dollars apiece.

The article contrasted that to the USA's drone program. Military procurement started attaching additional capabilities for our drones, lots of bells and whistles, then took bids from military contractors who wanted a hefty sum for producing the needlessly complicated drones. As a result, our drones are extremely expensive, cumbersome, take a long time to produce, and are not as versatile.

It was obvious decades ago that drones would be the future of warfare, but we invested in billion-dollar fighter jets and multi-billion-dollar warships that no longer fit the needs of modern warfare.