Only three days after the conflict broke out, Iran’s war has entered the stage of a war of attrition. Wave after wave of drone strikes by the Islamic Republic have strained the defenses of the United States and its partners from Bahrain to the United Arab Emirates, depleting weapons stockpiles. The outcome of the battle may depend on which side runs out of ammunition first.Shahed-136 unidirectional attack drones, a small rudimentary cruise missile, continued to strike targets across West Asia on Monday. According to the UAE, U.S.-made Patriot air defense missiles have been largely successful in intercepting Iranian missiles, with an interception rate of more than 90%. But using a $4 million missile to destroy a $20,000 drone illustrates a problem that has vexed military planners since the war in Ukraine: Cheap weapons can drain resources away from more sophisticated threats.(Bloomberg)
