American Family News interviewed retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Darin Gaub. The former UH-60 Black Hawk pilot and battalion commander often appears on Fox News and Newsmax, offering valuable insight on a range of national security issues.
Since 2007, Gaub has cautioned about the use of drones by criminal groups in Mexico near the U.S. border. In 2010, he authored a master’s thesis highlighting America’s unpreparedness to handle the dangers that drones present.
Long before the term “drone wars” entered the popular lexicon, back when “unmanned aerial vehicle” conjured images more of hobbyists, Gaub had predicted their application by drug cartels along the southern border of the United States, Hezbollah’s utilization of them in northern Israel, and their deployment by state actors such as China and Iran.
Three years later, Mexican drug cartels had begun using drones for surveillance and reconnaissance near the U.S. border, with a marked increase in activity observed from 2012 to 2014. The first officially recorded seizure of a “narco-drone” in the Southwest border area took place in 2015 in Calexico, California.
Even with their continued use at the U.S.-Mexico border, the real inflection point — the moment when Gaub’s warnings achieved mainstream validation — followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24, 2022.
It is here that Gaub noted the “significantly transformative role” of drones in the conflict. Drones have established a 25-kilometer “kill zone” along the front lines, where they account for nearly 80% of the casualties in that region.
According to Gaub, these instances alone demonstrate the exponential growth in drone use and how drones can transform warfare both domestically and internationally.
Operation Epic Fury — the latest American military campaign, launched with little fanfare but great urgency — offered the next proving ground. Since the start of the conflict, he noted that Iran’s drone saturation tactics are readily apparent, revealing both the strengths and weaknesses of U.S. and Israeli missile defense systems.
“This proliferation presents a growing strategic challenge. Just as early airpower eventually reshaped warfare across the globe, drone technology is rapidly becoming accessible to actors with far fewer resources than traditional military powers,” said Gaub. “Drones are inexpensive and are often as lethal as more expensive systems. When Hamas invaded Israel, multi-million-dollar Merkava tanks were destroyed by overhead drones costing tens of thousands at the most.”
In his opinion, “One strategic challenge facing industrial nations like the United States is one of cost. How much longer can we invest billions in piloted platforms when we could invest millions instead?”
Fewer required personnel means far fewer dollars invested.
“A large part of the investment in aircraft is in the systems necessary to keep pilots operational,” Gaub explained. “Drones remove not only the need for oxygen systems, but G-force suits, ejection seats, and much more. They also greatly reduce the need for multi-layered down pilot recovery plans that require a variety of expensive systems and specially trained personnel.”
Like it or not, here they come
There are undoubtedly advantages and disadvantages to their utilization.
He reiterated, “drones are cheap, which also basically renders them disposable. They’re unmanned so no one dies inside the aircraft when they’re destroyed.” However, he also pointed out, “they largely eliminate human judgment which can be critical on a battlefield.”
Despite these mixed advantages and disadvantages, he asserted, “drones represent the future, whether we like it or not.”
What’s more, he said, “The United States must take the lead in the drone sector, including counter-drone technology — and I’m not quite sure we’re there yet.”
“Today, the nations that adapt fastest to the reality of drones on land, at sea, and in the air will shape and win the wars of the future,” Gaub contended, pointing out that “the consequences and opportunities [he] first warned about over twenty years ago are here.”
