Q&A · 1:06:15-1:06:55

Why drones reduce the case for a revived kamikaze weapon

A two-stage human-guided missile concept offers little enduring advantage when unmanned systems can fill the expendable role.

Question

Could expensive missile seekers lead countries back to a kamikaze concept?

Short answer

Probably not, because drones already supply much of the expendable strike role without requiring a human-guided weapon.

Notes

The question imagines seeker cost and weight reviving a two-stage weapon in which a human-guided element performs the terminal attack. A renewed kamikaze system is not regarded as useful over the long term. Drones already provide an expendable strike mechanism without making a human pilot part of the weapon. Unmanned guidance removes the proposed rationale for sacrificing an operator.