Iran Burns Through US Reapers; Losses Force Trump Into Drone Hunt
About this episode
The episode discusses the significant losses of US MQ-9 Reaper drones in the conflict with Iran and the implications for US military capabilities and defense spending.
Right, so Iran has just done something no enemy of the United States was supposed to manage. It has run the most expensive air force on earth out of drones. The US has reportedly lost nearly 30 MQ-9 Reapers in its war with Iran, and now the Air Force is going cap in hand to General Atomics, the company that builds them, only to be told there are fewer than 10 "new" MQ-9As left for any customer anywhere in the world. So the superpower that outspends the entire planet on its military is not topping up losses like it is changing batteries in a remote control. It is rummaging for spare drones from a model that is no longer in proper production, while Donald Trump keeps selling American power as if the machine were limitless. It isn't. Iran has shoved the US into the stockroom, and the stockroom is nearly bare. And that same fallout is already turning into a possible $2bn counter-drone sale to Kuwait, because the moment Gulf bases start carrying the risk, Washington's answer isn't restraint. It is another invoice. The MQ-9 Reaper is not some side gadget in this story. It is a large remotely piloted aircraft used by the US Air Force for surveillance, intelligence-gathering and strikes…
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