Well what really is the difference between a missile and a single use drone built to punch through armor? Is the missile not basically a drone and is the drone not a missile?
The difference is size and cost. Missiles are large and expensive so ships can carry only a handful of them, and anti-missile defenses are designed based on that assumption. Drones defeat anti-missile defenses by coming in huge swarms that skim the waterline. The drones are also small because they have a relatively small warhead compared to anti-ship missiles.
It's the difference between needing to stop a dozen or so MIG-17 sized hypersonic missiles vs. hundreds of oversized quadcopters that move relatively slowly but chaotically.
jandrese|7 months ago
It's the difference between needing to stop a dozen or so MIG-17 sized hypersonic missiles vs. hundreds of oversized quadcopters that move relatively slowly but chaotically.