For decades, the U.S. military has taken air superiority for granted, but with armed drones so readily available to enemies, the U.S. can no longer assume it will rule the skies, according to The National Interest.
As they are often the first troops to land on enemy territory, the Marines can be vulnerable to enemy drones, according to the story. That's why the Corps is looking at new strategies to defeat drones, which can fly at various altitudes, Marine Lt. Col. Noah "Spool" Spataro told The National Interest.
Spataro is the Unmanned Aerial Systems Capabilities Integration/Requirements officer with Marine Corps Combat Development Command.
The Marines and the rest of the military face many challenges in countering drones, especially keeping the cost of countermeasures down, Spataro said. Another challenge is that commercially available technology many not be compatible with military systems And all products the military buys must work with existing systems.
"When we make a decision to buy a product, it has to be interoperable with other programs that already exist (in the force)," Spataro said. "They can't be isolated."
Rachael Kalinyak is an editorial intern with Network Solutions.
