No, it does not work like that. The unit might be millions of dollars, but what matters is the cost of one shot, which is going to be in the cents (the cost of the electricity). Plus, the cost of one unit might start at millions of dollars, but in time it would go down a lot. For this anti-drone defense to work, you'd need many thousands or tens of thousands of these systems, and with large scale comes large economies of scale.
One multimillion dollar unit can cover only one location and the area nearby. And that unit requires logistical support, cover and time to move to another location.
IOW I'm well aware of the "cost-per-shot" analysis and believe it doesn't hold water and isn't the future.
Future drones will be more like the "hunter-seeker" in the novel Dune: that is the future of drones. Here are depictions from several Dune movies:
There are currently drones with shotguns flying in the airspace of Crimea which seems more like the hunter-killer drones from Terminator. We shall have to see how things evolve from here.
A very costly (millions of dollars) unit vs hundreds or thousands of $500 units just won't work!
Some imagination is required, perhaps some lessons from the biology of immune systems et al?
No, it does not work like that. The unit might be millions of dollars, but what matters is the cost of one shot, which is going to be in the cents (the cost of the electricity). Plus, the cost of one unit might start at millions of dollars, but in time it would go down a lot. For this anti-drone defense to work, you'd need many thousands or tens of thousands of these systems, and with large scale comes large economies of scale.
I disagree.
One multimillion dollar unit can cover only one location and the area nearby. And that unit requires logistical support, cover and time to move to another location.
IOW I'm well aware of the "cost-per-shot" analysis and believe it doesn't hold water and isn't the future.
Future drones will be more like the "hunter-seeker" in the novel Dune: that is the future of drones. Here are depictions from several Dune movies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxgIpBFpzDs
There are currently drones with shotguns flying in the airspace of Crimea which seems more like the hunter-killer drones from Terminator. We shall have to see how things evolve from here.