President Donald Trump's Golden Dome is not just expensive — it is also not the ‘future of war,’ according to Washington Post columnist Max Boot.
“The drone revolution necessitates an urgent effort by the U.S. military to catch up,” Boot said. “But instead of looking to the 2020s and beyond, the commander in chief has his eyes firmly fixed on the 1980s.”
The Golden Dome — a missile shield covering the U.S. that would likely use space-based interceptors — is estimated to cost $175 billion to build and wouldn't be operational until 2029.
However, Boot believes drones would be a better use of Defense Department cash. According to estimates, “the United States has the capacity to manufacture 100,000 drones a year. That sounds like a lot, but actually it’s a pittance.”
“Unfortunately, the United States lacks the capacity to build small drones in large numbers, even though U.S. scientists were pioneers in developing unmanned systems in the first place,” he wrote.
One Chinese company, DJI, owns an estimated 90% of the global drone market, and this year the CCP has “used state subsidies to help build up a massive drone-manufacturing industry as part of its Made in China 2025 initiative,” Boot writes.
The initiative gives China the ability to make “high-quality drones so cheaply that it made it impossible for manufacturers in the United States and other countries to compete.”
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Boot noted, “Obviously the Defense Department cannot be reliant for drone parts from a country that might become a wartime adversary. (Indeed, the Defense Department is forbidden under U.S. law from buying drones that have any electronic components made in China.)” However, he still feels U.S.-made drones will make a better defense than a Golden Dome.
“The Trump administration defense budget calls for spending $25 billion on Golden Dome this year. Imagine how far that money could go if the United States were to invest it in drone production,” Boot said.
He noted Ukraine has been able to hold off Russia’s aggression thanks to drones. “Kyiv is allocating $2.6 billion this year to build 4.5 million first-person-view drones at an average cost of just $580 apiece,” he said. “If the United States were able to build drones as quickly and cheaply as Ukraine, it should be possible to build 43 million drones for $25 billion.”
Boot added, “If the United States could produce 43 million drones a year, that would create a far more effective deterrent to Chinese aggression than any amount of investment in the unproven technologies of Golden Dome.”
