Why the "War of Drones" in Asia will be different from Ukraine - the Economist
About it reports The Economist. Ukraine and the Russian Federation rely on drones for both intelligence and shock missions. Many of them are small and cheap. US Naval College Professor Jahara Matisec says that in the Armed Forces the average battalion receives more than 3000 drones a month. However, the war of drones over Taiwan will probably look completely different. Large drones, such as Reaper or Predator, have been dominated by large drones in the world.
However, in the Russian-Ukrainian war, FPV-Drones and Dron-Kamikadze gained great weight. Taiwan could use FPV to destroy the Chinese landing on the shore. The United States could use thousands of larger Kamikadze drones to attack any ship in the field. And of course UAVs will be used for exploration and observation. However, the problem with FPV and quadcopters in their range. Even Bayraktar TB2, which is larger in class, has only about 300 km.
And from Taiwan to the American base in Okinawa more than 800 km. The US needs larger ships that will be based on drones to shorten the distance to the Taiwan Strait. An alternative may be the UAV placement immediately on Taiwan, but Washington may be nervous due to Beijing's reaction. Analysts advise the United States to develop a wide arsenal of drones that have been widespread in Ukraine.
If America had built a long-range drone, optimized for war against China, it could start with something similar to the Iranian drone of Shahd-136, which Russia used against the energy network and cities of Ukraine, or similar Ukrainian systems that have recently destroyed the SU-57. The PRC has an advantage in this regard because it is close to Taiwan, which allows you to have better conditions for creating drones by price ratio.