U.S. Drone Warfare Tech Doesn't Have What It Takes

17 July 2025

There has been a fair amount of talk about David and Goliath-style asymmetric warfare as Ukraine's drone force has punished Russian invaders—and even more discussions have launched since the global surprise of the Ukrainian military's Operation Spider Web that decimated Russian bombers on their own airfields.

It appears the United States fears it might be next—if a small, agile threat goes up against our expensive and woefully inadequate drone tech.

Happily, America is taking steps to improve its ability to wage drone wars. Our potential savior?

Ukraine.

It has been reported that President Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky are drafting a significant deal that would bring combat-tested drones from the Ukraine to the U.S., in exchange for Kyiv purchasing American weapons. Sharing aerial technology is part of the accord, as well—although it seems we need them more than vice-versa.

“If we had to go to war tomorrow, do we have what we need? No,” said Trent Emeneker of the military’s Defense Innovation Unit, in speaking with the New York Times about the U.S. drone-technology lag behind China and Russia. “We all know the same thing. We aren’t giving the American war fighter what they need to survive warfare today.”

Zelensky has long attributed drones as the essential weaponry that has kept Russian invaders from victory for more than three years.

“We will be ready to share our experience with America and other European partners,“ said Zelensky in an interview with The Post. "The people of America need this technology, and you need to have it in your arsenal. I think this is really a mega deal, a win-win, as they say."

The potential deal has arisen at a critical time for America. At a Defense Department testing camp in Alaska this June, U.S. soliders failed miserably at shooting down prototype drones and tech foul ups were also reported.

“We were brought here to rebuild the military and match capabilities to the threats of today,” said U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a Pentagon memo. “So while our adversaries have produced millions of cheap drones before us, we were mired in bureaucratic red tape. Not anymore.”