In the throes of the 1947-1991 Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, it was all about nuclear capability, bomber and submarine fleets, large and deployable armies, and other combat-ready material produced and controlled by large nations.
This week, Ukraine just schooled the planet that inexpensive attack drones can cripple a superpower.
It was also a stunning example of "asymmetric warfare" — where a smaller combatant can bring a monster to its knees. World media has already tagged Ukraine's Spider Web attack on Russian airfields as a "David vs. Goliath" event. You get the idea.
And guess what?
The United States—and other nations for that matter — is similarly vulnerable to, as the Washington Post put it, "low-tech, low-cost strikes."
“The Pentagon should be very worried about this,” said Stacie Pettyjohn, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "A Ukraine-style attack — using drones hidden in shipping containers or trucks — could very well happen on U.S. soil, or against U.S. air and naval bases overseas."
One of the darkest days in America — the 911 al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. soil — is another example of asymmetric warfare. According to the 911 Commission, the strikes that toppled the World Trade Center, damaged the Pentagon, and killed nearly 3,000 people likely cost the terrorists less than $500,000. Compare that figure to the reported $8 trillion the United States spent on the war on terror, post-9/11.
The “character of warfare is changing at a ratio faster than we’ve ever seen,” said Army Gen. Bryan Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, in a Congressional meeting in April 2025. “Our adversaries use $10,000, one-way drones that we shoot down with $2 million missiles. That cost-benefit curve is upside down.”
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has showcased that inexpensive drones — some being DIY projects and off-the-shelf consumer models — are viable weapons, beating back tanks, personnel carriers, soldiers, and, yes, a bomber force.
“That very same strike can be conducted against us,” said Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank.
