In a discussion regarding the ongoing “, a former high-ranking U.S. military officer made a point which left me momentarily speechless. That point being: “The UAE and our other allies in the Middle East are better protected via U.S. air defense systems from Irans Shahed Drones than the state of Florida.”
The reason Florida was brought up was because of Cuba. Much in the news lately as the Trump administration seeks to free the people of that communist nation from decades of totalitarian rule.
As those negotiations go on, the logical question regarding Cuba â which is less than 90 miles off the coast of Florida â becomes: “Has Iran â or any other terrorist organization or U.S. adversary â successfully placed any of its Shahed attack drones within that Communist Island nation?”
As was recently reported on this site in a “Pentagon jumps from $225M to $55B on drones as cheap attacks overwhelm US defenses,” the United States and our Department of War might be on the wrong end of the “World War Drone” spectrum.
As the lead paragraph of the article rightfully â and shockingly â pointed out: “The Pentagon is seeking roughly $55 billion for drone and autonomous warfare programs in its fiscal year 2027 budget, as battlefield from the Middle East to Ukraine expose a growing problem: cheap drones are increasingly able to overwhelm costly U.S. defenses.”
A “growing problem” indeed. One that is no doubt on the minds of the commanders of the Florida potentially in striking distance from Cuba. Most especially those in the Tampa area which is home to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Is the U.S. truly behind the curve in this exponentially evolving theater of battlefield operations? And, if so, by how much?
More importantly, where does the â arguably our No. 1 adversary â stand with its own military drone technology? A China that has already infiltrated operatives â and operations â throughout Central and South America and ⦠Cuba. Countries which could house enemy drones well within striking distance of the United States.
It has been reported that both China and are making massive advances with their autonomous warfighting capabilities. Of major concern is that both adversaries are developing larger “carrier” drones capable of launching smaller attack drones mid-flight.
Carrier drones which would greatly extend the range of such attack drones. Should such carrier drones be infiltrated into the Western Hemisphere, the direct line flight path math to the continental United States is not complicated. It is chilling.
The good news is that if our military and the Pentagon are behind the drone-warfare curve, they wont be for very long. Not only has the budget for this cutting-edge technology dramatically increased, the Trump administration seems to be adopting a “Manhattan Project” strategy to catch and then greatly surpass our adversaries.
As they do this, a logical conclusion to be made is that the evolving threat from China is the driving force behind much of the U.S. strategy. With China specifically in mind, critically important questions quickly emerge.
As the just completed talks between President and Chinas President Xi Jinping highlighted, the subject of Taiwan and its potential defense, is a very contentious subject between our two nations. If a conflict breaks out in that area, do we currently have the heavy-lift drone capability to deal with China and its powerful Navy?
What deterrents are we developing to give China pause from initiating future actions harmful to U.S. interests? Our Navy has already demonstrated that its warships can shoot down Shahed-class drones, but its not cost-effective. But drones from Iran or a small terrorist organization are one thing. How will the United States deploy a cutting-edge deterrent to Chinas rapidly advancing Navy? Is the Pentagon focusing on the development of its
