(by Franco Iacch) It is strange to see some of the asymmetrical tactics that I had imagined years ago applied in these hours on the Gaza Strip with low-end drones used by Israel to throw tear gas at demonstrators. The Palestinians in turn launch incendiary kites, makeshift assets almost impossible to shoot down (a fire in the Be'eri forest was particularly devastating). What I call Enormous overkill is an attrition strategy that involves adapting cheap, readily available civil technology to be hurled at expensive high-end systems designed for conventional interstate warfare. From bombing vehicles in urban battles to attacking expendable drones that can overwhelm traditional air defenses that were never designed to defend against such tiny targets, the era of drone warfare has arrived. And it will evolve. But be careful and I have been saying it for years: this is only the beginning. The Improvised Air Threat does NOT need to be armed. The implementation of explosives on low-cost devices is in some cases only a detail.
I detect a point as an excellent example of Asymmetric Logistics / Adaptation Tactics. Israel will certainly not go bankrupt for the quadricopters: it could go for the ABM defense system against the Qassam rockets for example, but this is another matter. The ABM is designed for war between high-profile states: it would not be economically viable to use it against low-end drones (there is a country that used the Patriot to break down a commercial drone). In this particular context, Israel uses low-end drones to intercept incendiary kites. However, the Palestinians demonstrate once again an incredible capacity for adaptation. If we compare the cost of a quadricopter to that of a kite, we note the adaptability of the Palestinians who with materials practically impossible to ban have created a real tactical problem for Israel.
