With regards to drones, the WSJ had a piece about how western armies like to develop very complete but very expensive air/land drones (think Boston Dynamics) but Ukraine is also opting for cheap air/land drones. I can imagine a group like Hamas or the resurgent Al Qaida in central Africa adopting such drone swarm tactics. Part of the problem is the numbers, but also how cheap these drones can be. The IDF is trying to advance use of laser weapons as a means to combat this threat on the cheap side. But this only works for fair weather days.
Yeah, I see a lot of people worrying about drone-based terrorism happening in the States, but the reality is that cheap drones can't carry all that much, and lightweight explosives that are also effective are extremely difficult to acquire, much less concoct. I know IEDs were a huge problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I don't know whether cheap drones can carry their weight effectively.
On the other hand, with regard to critical system infrastructure or machinery like airplanes, you don't need to do all that much damage to do an enormously lopsided amount of damage for the cost. So, idk.
OTOH I think for example the IDF could have used such cheap land drones right now for distributing food for hungry Gazans. Part of the problem is the friction in the actual distribution points. But if you could have land drones crossing some 300 yards en masse to make a delivery well that can make a huge difference.
This is definitely the silver lining behind the current cloud--drones have enormous humanitarian potential, especially in situations like you describe.
~Camilla
Ghavrel is Ghavrel is Ghavrel
*MySmiley*