Drones are the biggest tactical concern since the rise of IEDs in Iraq, US Marine official says

Shafaq News/ The proliferation of small, cheap drones is the "most concerning tactical development" since the rise of the improvised explosive device in Iraq, Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, who helms CENTCOM, said in prepared remarks at the Middle East Institute, according to Army Times.

"I’m not just talking about large unmanned platforms, which are the size of a conventional fighter jet that we can see and deal with by normal air defense means. I’m talking about ones you can go out and buy at Costco right now for $1,000," McKenzie said.

Commercial drones are relatively inexpensive and easy for militant groups and criminal organizations to modify to fit their needs, noting that Syrian fighters even found crude ISIS drone factories in areas liberated from the extremist group.

"Right now, we’re on the wrong side of the cost imposition curve because this technology favors the attacker, not the defender," McKenzie said. "But we’re working very hard to fix this and flatten the curve. We have a variety of systems in the field already."

McKenzie added that the problem has the “direct attention” of leaders at the Pentagon. The Army, which is charged with overseeing the Defense Department’s programs to counter small drones, published a new strategy outlining the threat in January.