A Ukrainian soldier prepares to launch a Hornet medium-strike drone toward Russian troops from a position near a front line in Ukraine's Donetsk region in late June. | REUTERS
Aug 2, 2026
Iran has launched large numbers of one-way attack drones costing only thousands of dollars each into the Persian Gulf, complicating operations for U.S. Navy destroyers worth billions of dollars and forcing the United States to expend interceptor missiles costing millions.
The battlefield value of these capabilities is now widely recognized. Their impact on deterrence, however, remains far less understood. As states integrate drones, missiles and other emerging technologies into their force structures, the wars in Ukraine and Iran offer important lessons about both the promise and the limits of asymmetric warfare.
Asymmetric capabilities
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