Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll on Wednesday warned that Ukraine’s recent drone strikes deep inside Russia reveals the United States has its own vulnerabilities in the face of similar attacks.
Using relatively inexpensive drones, Ukraine on Sunday launched unprecedented attacks on Russian airfields as far away as Siberia, dealing a heavy blow to the Kremlin’s strategic bomber fleet, with reportedly 40 aircraft damaged or destroyed.
Driscoll said the operation, which reportedly used more than 100 inexpensive drones smuggled into Russia in trucks, is eye opening in terms of how cheaper, easily obtained weapons have the power to cause massive damage in the right hands. He worried that the Army is falling behind in addressing such threats.
“At a cost of mere tens of thousands of dollars, Ukraine inflicted billions in damage, potentially setting back Russia’s bomber capabilities for years. The world saw, in real-time, how readily available technology can disrupt established power dynamics,” Driscoll said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
He added: “Drones are but one example of a broader shift, and honestly, the Army is not keeping pace.”
Driscoll’s concerns were shared by the panel’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), who said the Ukrainian operation has “gotten our attention of the vulnerabilities of existing systems and the capabilities of drones” and other new systems.
“There is no question that the nature of warfare is changing dramatically. How do we adjust our force to meet those challenges?” he mused.
Ukraine’s successful attack raised questions as to how protected the U.S. homeland actually is, a concern that has lingered following mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey and other states in the northeast late last year.
That followed unidentified swarms of drones seen near military installations, including drones that flew near Virginia’s Langley Air Force Base over 17 days in December 2023.
In another sighting in October 2023, five drones flew over a government site used for nuclear weapons experiments for three days outside Las Vegas. It is not publicly known who operated them.
And U.S. officials confirmed in October that unidentified drone swarms were spotted near Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., north of Los Angeles.
President Trump last month announced plans for his Golden Dome missile-defense shield as one such way to address incoming threats. But that system – thought up as a web of space-based radars and interceptors – is meant to defend against ballistic and intercontinental missiles rather than low flying drones and missiles launched off ships.
To immediately deal with possible threats, Driscoll called for a more agile force that is able to quickly innovate and partner with private industry if need be, saying the Army is currently “calcified” by bureaucracy.
Russia, meanwhile, is expected to launch a counterattack against Ukraine, a plan Trump confirmed on Wednesday after speaking by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“President Putin did say, and very strongly, that he will have to respond to the recent attack on the airfields,” Trump posted to Truth Social.