2
Low-cost suicide drones are rewriting the economics of modern warfare. Iran’s Shahed-style drones cost as little as $35,000 but force defenders like Israel to fire interceptor missiles worth up to $4 million each. This creates a devastating cost-exchange ratio of 1:100 in favor of the attacker. Compared with advanced systems like the MQ-9 Reaper and Global Hawk, these crude drones can swarm, exhaust air defences, and cause disproportionate damage—changing the very mathematics of war.
