Slow drone integration is linked to the post-Cold War belief that major war had receded. Governments treated defence as a vestigial obligation and kept cutting forces while assuming the remaining risks could be managed. Britain's 1982 Falklands experience preserved more awareness that war could return, yet repeated reductions continued. Institutions now face the task of introducing drones after decades of constrained spending and lost capacity.
Notable Point · 34:16-35:59
Post-Cold War defence cuts slowed drone integration
The belief that major war had receded encouraged governments to cut forces and helps explain why useful drone concepts were not integrated more quickly.