A transport-launched swarm of short-range quadcopters has to survive several defenses before reaching a carrier group. The transport must first evade fighters and long-range surface-to-air missiles, making delivery the scenario's earliest weakness. Escort drones add cost and can be exhausted before the carrier group runs out of long-range defenses. Drones that reach the ships enter an intense radar and electronic-warfare environment capable of disrupting or even damaging unprotected electronics. Hardening the swarm adds weight, stronger motors, larger batteries, and expense, eroding the assumption that overwhelming numbers remain cheap. Loitering munitions remain useful, although platform, range, survivability, and countermeasure costs have to be analyzed together.
Notable Point · 4:59:04-5:02:42
Why cheap drone swarms do not automatically defeat carriers
A transport-launched quadcopter swarm must first penetrate fighters and long-range missiles, then survive a dense electromagnetic environment that makes cheap drones expensive to harden.