How the U.S. can defend against attacks like Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb
As drones become more common, the United States should ensure our defense keeps pace with these threats and our offense can be as creative as Ukraine’s.
Ukraine just pulled off a history-making attack on Russia, and it should be a wake-up call for the United States. Using drones launched from shipping containers on the back of trucks, Ukraine guided explosives into Russian bombers across multiple airfields. These strikes included the assembly of drones by Kyiv’s covert operatives within Russia. The drones, dispersed by apparently unwitting drivers, then rose from their hiding places to strike separate bases across Russia, ranging from hundreds to thousands of kilometers from the front line.
It’s the kind of attack defense experts have been warning about for years. Countries like Iran, China, and North Korea boast about their container-borne attack drones and missiles, and Amazon even holds a patent on a commercial delivery drone system using containers.
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