Iran’s cheap drones become a big headache for America: Millions of crores spent to stop drones worth ₹32 lakhs, America’s operational cost increased rapidly.

Iran’s cheap and low-tech drones have become a big headache for America. Many times, America has to spend lakhs to crores of rupees to shoot down Shahed-136 drone, which is made for about 35,000 dollars (about ₹ 32 lakh). Due to this, the cost of war for America has increased rapidly. According to the New York Times report, America spent 11.3 billion dollars (about ₹ 1.04 lakh crore) in the first six days of the war. According to the American Enterprise Institute, by the beginning of April this expenditure reached between 25 to 35 billion dollars (about ₹ 2.31 lakh crore to ₹ 3.24 lakh crore). Most of this was done by interceptor missiles. The report says that due to continuous use of expensive interceptors, their stocks are depleting rapidly. “The fear is that we will burn them out, not because of the money, but because we won’t be able to replace them in time,” said Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Cheap drones vs expensive security: Iran’s drones are made with common commercial technology and their cost is around ₹ 32 lakh. On the contrary, the interceptor missiles and defense systems used to shoot them down are many times more expensive. This imbalance has become the biggest challenge for America. Defense experts believe that US defense investment has long been focused on expensive but precise weapons, resulting in insufficient preparation for threats such as cheap drones. Major change in war strategy: After the Ukraine war, drones have become an important part of the war strategy. Iran has also adopted this model and attacks by launching multiple drones simultaneously. Drones like Shahed-136 can fly up to about 2500 km and targets are programmed even before launch. This puts large areas throughout the Middle East at risk. Air-Based Defense: Air defense is considered to be the best way to shoot down effective but limited drones from a distance. In this, early warning aircraft track drones and fighter jets like F-16 shoot them down with APKWS rockets. This method is relatively cheap, but not available all the time and everywhere. Additionally, Iran has also targeted early warning systems, which weakens this strategy. According to expert Michael Horowitz, “This category of low-cost precision strike did not exist when most of the US air defense systems were developed.” Capability and Cost of Navy Destroyers The radar system installed in the destroyers of the US Navy can detect drones from about 50 km away. After this they are shot down by Standard Missile-2 (SM-2) interceptor. Under military protocol, at least two missiles are fired to destroy a target, further increasing the cost. This imbalance began after the Cold War, when the potential threats were seen as small numbers of but fast and high-end projectiles. Large-scale drone strikes were not envisioned at that time. Ground System Challenges Ground-based radar systems are limited in detecting drones, especially when drones are flying at low altitudes. Due to the curvature of the Earth, the range of radar is affected and timely detection becomes difficult. Coyote System: Cheap and Effective, but Drawbacks For short ranges the Coyote anti-drone system is quite effective and economical. It can intercept drones up to a distance of about 15 km. However, the US Army has very less numbers. It had to be shifted repeatedly between different military bases during the attacks in 2023–24. Missile Defense System: The most expensive option: America uses systems like SM-2 and Patriot for long range. These systems are designed to shoot down drones as well as aircraft and ballistic missiles, hence their cost is very high. Often two missiles have to be fired to bring down a drone, which further increases the cost. According to experts, this problem started after the Cold War, when America designed its defense system for bigger and faster weapons, and not for cheap drones. Last Option: Gun System When the drone gets too close to the target, a gun system like the Centurion C-RAM is used. This is a relatively cheap option, but it has a very short range and comes in handy only at the last moment. Future Solution: AI and Interceptor Drones AI based interceptor drones can play an important role in fighting drones in the future. Systems like Merops are said to be capable of tracking and destroying enemy drones. America has sent thousands of such systems to the Middle East, but there is no clear information about their use. Laser weapons: Cheap but still far from use. Pentagon has invested more than one billion dollars (about ₹ 9,260 crore) on laser-based weapons. With these, drones can be shot down for just $3 (about ₹278) per shot and their range is about 12 miles. However, this technology has not yet been used on the battlefield. The biggest concern of experts is not only the increasing expenditure but also the decreasing stock of weapons. There is a fear that the interceptor missiles may wear out rapidly and it will be difficult to replace them in time. If affordable solutions against cheap drones are not developed soon, it could become a major security challenge for the US and its allies in the future.



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