Iran Drones: Middle East Tensions: $20,000 Iranian Drones Overwhelm $4 Million US Defenses –

Only three days into the conflict, Iran’s war has become exhausting. Waves of drone attacks by the Islamic Republic are straining the defenses of the United States and its partners from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates, depleting weapons stockpiles.

The outcome of the fighting may depend on which side runs out of ammunition first.Shahed-136 unidirectional attack drones, small, primitive cruise missiles, continued to bomb targets across West Asia on Monday. US-made Patriot air defense missiles have been largely successful in stopping Iranian missiles, with interception rates exceeding 90%, according to the UAE. But using $4 million worth of missiles to destroy $20,000 worth of drones illustrates a problem that has haunted military planners since the Ukraine war: Cheap weapons can eat up resources devoted to more complex threats.(Bloomberg)