It sounded good on paper – and then somebody had to pay for it.
When Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the Replicator Initiative in August, it generated a great deal of enthusiasm in the Pentagon and industry. The program to develop and acquire thousands of weaponized drones was not limited to land, sea, or air, but would include all domains. Four months later, the buzz has gone silent.
In its report “Drones – Is the DOD Just Chasing the Next Shiny Thing?” Liberty Nation described the Replicator scheme as an attempt by the Department of Defense to develop a mass of remotely controlled weapons:
“That is not simply cutting-edge technology in bombers, expensive cruise missiles, warships, and generation-plus fighter aircraft, but swarms of small, less costly drones in all warfighting domains.”
The intention was to overwhelm Chinese Navy and Air Force…
