US and France warn of air defense vulnerabilities to drone attacks

Military leaders in the United States and France have issued warnings regarding the vulnerability of their domestic air defenses to low-cost, mass-produced drone technology.

Former US air defense chief Glen VanHerck stated that the American military is currently unprepared to intercept hostile unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) within domestic borders. He noted that existing defense infrastructures, designed to track high-altitude threats like ballistic missiles and fighter jets, possess significant blind spots for small, low-altitude drones that are difficult for traditional radar to detect.

In France, Chief of the Defense Staff General Fabien Mandon warned that the nation is not yet ready to confront the threat posed by inexpensive, mass-produced drones. Mandon highlighted the economic imbalance in modern warfare, where sophisticated, multi-million dollar missiles are often required to neutralize drones costing only tens of thousands of dollars. He emphasized the need to reduce the ‘cost per kill’ and noted that defensive weapons are not yet being produced in the quantities necessary to counter intense waves of attacks.