I was thinking the same thing the other day. And to a certain degree, I think that they are. I also believe that to a certain degree aircraft and ships of certain types are also going to become obsolete. And the main reason is man portable missile targeting systems have evolved to such a degree, that there's nowhere to hide. What we now have are weapons systems that cost a small fraction of the high dollar equipment that they are destroying. Those systems can be carried and fired by a relatively minimally trained foot soldier to destroy much more costly weapons systems and kill much more highly trained combatants.
Remember in WWII, where the vaunted battleships that were once the rulers of the sea, were suddenly made completely obsolete by basically cargo ships with flight decks on top? Between drones and manpads, I think this is where we are now. If a country spent a larger amount of money on effective drones and manpads and spent less on fighter jets, assault helicopters, and tanks, gave one to every soldier, it would be a force to be reckoned with.
There is no way I would want to be a tanker or a helicopter gunship crew these days. I would much rather be on a 4 man fire team, with a drone and some javelins and stingers.
Last edited by Irishguy; 03/31/2205:23 PM.
"When I say ever thing I mean ever thing." - Frankie
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