US needs cheaper ways to shoot down drones, Pentagon acquisition chief says
After months of shooting down drones over the Middle East, the cost of those interceptions is getting too high. That’s according to the Pentagon’s chief of weapons procurement, who said that efforts to take out uncrewed aerial systems are now exceeding $100,000 per shot.
William LaPlante, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense, made the comments earlier this week at a conference hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. C4isrnet reported on his remarks, where LaPlante noted that current efforts to stop drones fired by Houthi militants in Yemen are relying on costly missiles fired from Navy destroyers or fighter jets. The current price tag, he said, is “getting too expensive.”