[dabigv13]

The NYT has an article from today on this very issue of cost of interceptors versus cost of drones.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/world...rones.html

The Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that Moscow has increasingly been relying on since October are relatively uncomplicated devices and fairly cheap, while the array of weapons used to shoot them out of the sky can be much pricier, according to experts. The self-destructing drones can cost as little as $20,000 to produce, while the cost of firing a surface-to-air missile can range from $140,000 for a Soviet-era S-300 to $500,000 for a missile from an American NASAMS.

....

For now, Moscow has changed how it is using the drones it already has in hand.

Russian forces have increasingly been launching their explosive drones at night and low along the Dnipro River, making it harder for Ukraine to detect them, according to Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, who was speaking on Ukrainian radio.

Of course the "cost" of an S-300 missile may be 140k but since they aren't being made anymore by Ukraine at least, they are probably worth much much more than that. The relative dollar cost is not really so much the issue when we compare drones vs interceptors. The US and the west broadly has a much healthier economic base to afford these things, it's more a question of manufacturing capacity and political will. The Iranian drones may only cost 20k to produce (wonder where that number even comes from, does Shahed Industries have a catalog?), but there is some upper limit on Iranian/Russian procurement of necessary components and manufacturing throughput. Since these drones have many Western components, it may be hard to really ramp up production.

[dabigv13]

The NYT has an article from today on this very issue of cost of interceptors versus cost of drones.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/world...rones.html

The Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones that Moscow has increasingly been relying on since October are relatively uncomplicated devices and fairly cheap, while the array of weapons used to shoot them out of the sky can be much pricier, according to experts. The self-destructing drones can cost as little as $20,000 to produce, while the cost of firing a surface-to-air missile can range from $140,000 for a Soviet-era S-300 to $500,000 for a missile from an American NASAMS.

....

For now, Moscow has changed how it is using the drones it already has in hand.

Russian forces have increasingly been launching their explosive drones at night and low along the Dnipro River, making it harder for Ukraine to detect them, according to Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, who was speaking on Ukrainian radio.

Of course the "cost" of an S-300 missile may be 140k but since they aren't being made anymore by Ukraine at least, they are probably worth much much more than that. The relative dollar cost is not really so much the issue when we compare drones vs interceptors. The US and the west broadly has a much healthier economic base to afford these things, it's more a question of manufacturing capacity and political will. The Iranian drones may only cost 20k to produce (wonder where that number even comes from, does Shahed Industries have a catalog?), but there is some upper limit on Iranian/Russian procurement of necessary components and manufacturing throughput. Since these drones have many Western components, it may be hard to really ramp up production.