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World NewsAP buries the lede as usual:
It's an expensive and time-consuming way to wage war since only 5% to 9% of what Ukraine fires gets past Russian air defenses, according to Watling.
The opposite is also true. And it is part of the equation: you send cheap drones to force the use of expensive air defense. It is a war of economic attrition.
The classic Zerg attack with expendable drones. Taking a time-honored Soviet strategy and turning it against them.
Do provide citations to substantiate the claim that Russia is spending more on air defence than the west is on drones. Meanwhile, if you want to see actual economic war of attrition then go look at what Russian missiles are doing to infrastructure in Ukraine where there are no air defences. For example, around 70% of imports and exports went through Odessa which is now blockaded. And Ukrainian warehouses are being systematically eliminated. https://dengi.ua/en/business/9761324-russian-strikes-on-warehouses-how-the-war-is-reshaping-ukraine-s-logistics
$50k for long range drone vs $2M for missile defense. So it's $1m to attack vs $2M to defend.
https://defence-blog.com/cheap-drones-are-beating-russias-billion-dollar-air-defenses/
In practice Russia uses Pantsir https://odin.t2com.army.mil/WEG/Asset/96K6_Pantsir-S1_(SA-22_Greyhound)Russian_Short-Range_Air_Defense_Gun::Missile_System which has point defences rather than just using missiles. Russia has also developed Yolka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yolka(drone_interceptor) interceptor drones. Also, cost of production in Russia is far lower than it is in the west. What you're reading in your link is projection, their analysis is based on what's happening to yanks in the war on Iran. Anybody who thinks Russia uses S300/400 or Buk systems to intercept drones is not engaging with reality.
Pantsir which has point defences rather than just using missiles.
Pantsir is missiles, just many smaller ones. It's still $200k missile to stop a $50k drone.
https://www.globaldefensecorp.com/2026/07/08/cheap-ukrainian-drones-are-beating-russias-billion-dollar-s-400-s-300-and-pantsir-air-defense-systems/
Also, cost of production in Russia is far lower
Reported prices include foreign exchange rate differences. If Pantsir was built in the US it would be $2M per missile instead of $200k.
No, Pantsir also has guns for close range interceptions, and you've just walked back your original claim by an order of magnitude. But even if we take your 200k number, how would you say that compares to not having AD at all which is the case in Ukraine? Do you think it's worse having all your infrastructure destroyed or better, if it is a matter of attrition which side do you think is coming out ahead here?
Guns aren't effective against drones which is why the Pantsir-SMD-E was ordered which removes the guns to add more missiles for drone defense.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantsir_missile_system
Right, and one side has a whole tot more to send
Russia really doesn't. You'd think they do but they don't between grift and fraud they barely have infantry equipment let alone modern air defense missiles. It's why they keep ending up fielding cold war era equipment.
That doesn't make sense given that they've been steadily advancing. There's no substitute for munitions, and there's no hiding their scarcity. Also, the reason armies around the world, including the US and Ukraine, still field Cold War Era equipment is that apocalyptic stockpiles of it were made on both sides so it's abundant, dirt cheap and largely parts compatible with the equipment that replaced it.
Russia? Steadily has to be a euphemism right? Because it's several thousand days, tens of billions of dollars and what a million dead over projected estimates. That's not evidence of incoming victory that's evidence of attrition and stagnation against a non peer nation.
It's Manchester United going 0-0 with an incredibly low ranking pre kindergarten team woke chanting about how close it was.
No, steadily is the word.
Because it’s several thousand days, tens of billions of dollars and what a million dead over projected estimates.
What estimates?
That's evidence of attrition
Yes, Russia had been using an attrition strategy for most of this war, using drones and shelling to exhaust their opponent's reserves of troops and equipment. The reason this has been working is that Russia can field more troops and is producing more equipment.
It’s Manchester United going 0-0 with an incredibly low ranking pre kindergarten team woke chanting about how close it was.
Then you'll have to forgive my confusion as to how and why the kindergarten team now fully controls one fifth of Man U
Putins comments to reporters said two weeks, the intercepted plans lay out a two week strategy those are estimates.
You get that attrition is the dumbest possible thing to use a strategy when you start a surprise war with an overwhelming disparity of force right? Like choosing the way most wars are lost as a strategy reenforces the fact they're quagmired.
Again you miss the point, a group of grown men shouldn't not lose slower they should have already won and handily at that.
Why didn't they think of that before!
Now it makes sense why Zelensky keeps firing all his generals until he found one that came up with this genius idea!
Oh Fedorov was dismissed too.
