How cheaper defences could change missile saturation

Cheap attacking weapons can force a defender to consume costly interceptors before the decisive weapons arrive. Lasers, railguns, and electronic weapons could change that exchange if they can reliably defeat drones and slower cruise missiles. Interceptor missiles could then concentrate on hypersonic threats instead of being depleted against the cheaper part of the attack. The attacker would need to launch more expensive weapons to recover the same probability of a hit. Hypersonic weapons also require costly launchers and support systems, whose size can make them easier to locate. This remains a conditional argument about defensive development.