Marketplace All-in-One How low-cost drones are used in modern military strikes
Mar 19, 2026
Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security and defense policy expert, discusses the evolution and scale of weaponized drones. She covers Iran’s Shahed-style systems, how commercial parts and supply chains make cheap long-range drones possible, and the strategic and defense challenges posed by kamikaze drones, decoys, and widespread access.
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Drones Are Iran's Primary Offensive Tool
- Iran treats drones as a primary weapon, complicating defense strategies for the U.S., Gulf partners, and Israel.
- Shahed-136 style systems are cheap to produce and hard to eliminate, forcing expensive interception or persistent vulnerability.
Global Commercial Supply Chains Fuel Drone Proliferation
- Shahed-136 designs are replicated and reverse-engineered, leading to low-cost variants like the U.S. Loitering Munition that lacks range and payload of originals.
- Key components come from commercial supply chains and Western electronics, making proliferation hard to stop.
Simple Materials and Engines Power Shahed Variants
- Early Shaheds used simple honeycomb cores and piston engines reverse-engineered from available German engines; Russia shifted to fiberglass and sometimes carbon fiber.
- Component sourcing through commercial intermediaries bypasses export controls and regulation.