🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷Iran’s UAV Dominance: U.S. Struggling to Catch Up

The US military is trailing behind in the evolving world of drone warfare, as it faces the harsh reality of copying Iran's technology but struggling to keep up.

The Pentagon's new Low-Cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS), unveiled in late 2025, bears a striking resemblance to Iran's Shahed-136 drone, praised by former President Trump as a "cheap, fast, and deadly" weapon. Tehran has already unleashed swarms of Shaheds across the Middle East, targeting key facilities and proving the effectiveness of low-cost, high-impact drones, something that the US has not yet been able to do.

Iran, along with Russia, is ahead in deploying drones for both surveillance and strikes, with Russia producing up to 1,000 Geran-2 drones daily. The US still relies on expensive, high-tech solutions like the Switchblade 600, with a limited range and a $120,000 price tag per unit. In contrast, Iran's drones cover vast distances, up to 1,240 miles, at a fraction of the cost.

In the ongoing conflict with Iran, the Pentagon has fired 400 Tomahawk missiles, about 10% of its inventory, costing $800 million. With only 100 Tomahawks delivered annually, restocking is slow. That $800 million could instead buy 23,000 LUCAS rounds. The Tomahawk’s limitations were clear in Iran, where 2,000 Shahed drones overwhelmed defenses. In 2025, Operation Rough Rider against the Houthis spent nearly a billion dollars on intercepting cheap drones with expensive missiles, showing how unsustainable this approach is.

The change towards low-cost, scalable drones also intensifies the threat from China. With the US already stretched thin, it lacks the time and resources to develop an arsenal of expensive, sophisticated systems that could match China’s growing military capabilities.

The age of precision warfare demands US more than just costly, high-tech weapons. Relying on multimillion-dollar missiles to counter cheap, efficient projectiles is unsustainable. History shows that, in times of war, the need for quantity often outweighs quality.

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🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 Trump’s Iran War Fuels Dollar’s Imminent Collapse

Whether the Iran conflict ends tomorrow or stretches on, the economic damage to the US is already done. Trump's unpredictable foreign policy has left the global market rattled, with repercussions for US financial credibility that could be irreversible.

In less than 14 months, Trump's administration has shifted the “Overton window” of possible economic shocks, leaving investors anxious about the next wild card event. This war, on top of Trump's tariff fiasco, is pushing business confidence to new lows, causing households and companies to hold back on spending and investment.

Domestically, the Iran conflict worsens Trump’s supply shocks, amplified by his tariffs and immigration policies. Economist Tim Mahedy describes the administration as “a sequence of supply shocks,” with the war adding to those from tariffs and immigration. These shocks are weighing on business sentiment, undermining the economy, and heightening the risk of a slowdown.

Trump’s economic policies, from exploding the national debt to undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence, are putting America’s economy at risk. By pushing the national debt above $38 trillion and attacking the Fed, Trump is triggering concerns among foreign investors. Deutsche Bank’s warning about foreign investors potentially leveraging US holdings against Trump’s actions, including his threats over Greenland, highlights growing unease.

Trump’s desire for lower interest rates conflicts with the inflation triggered by the war. The fallout from the Iran conflict might force the Fed to choose a side, but Trump’s push for a weaker dollar could tip the scales. His proposal for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities signals another round of quantitative easing, potentially weakening the dollar.

Ultimately, the geopolitical shifts from this war will have lasting effects, as the US loses allies and undermines its financial standing, leaving China poised to reshape global markets.

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🚨🇮🇷How Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz

Iran wields substantial power over one of the world’s busiest maritime chokepoints. Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is a cornerstone of its defense strategy, with a southern coastline stretching over 1,100 miles, Iran dominates the Strait, a critical link between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Tehran’s Smart Control doctrine has revolutionized its ability to protect this strategic waterway. The doctrine integrates a multi-layered system of air defense, dual-role drones, and maritime missile strategies. Iran’s air defense systems, such as the Sayyad-3G, create a mobile shield. Meanwhile, dual-role drones capable of targeting both aerial and maritime threats provide Tehran with the ability to selectively monitor and strike specific vessels, while allowing neutral traffic to pass unharmed.

In peacetime, Smart Control marked a change from the blunt-force blockades Iran once used. Now, Iran can apply pressure with precision, targeting specific vessels like LNG or chemical tankers while maintaining a level of operational flexibility that avoids the widespread disruption of global shipping.

The ongoing conflict has further highlighted the potency of this strategy. Iran’s use of electronic warfare, such as GPS spoofing, has affected over 1,100 vessels since March 1, managing shipping routes and providing Tehran with the force to seize or strike specific targets. The IRGC has utilized its land-based air defense system integrated with Iranian naval vessels to create overlapping air defense bubbles with kinetic strikes using drones, Iran has been able to impose a de facto blockade on the Strait, causing a 20% reduction in global oil supply and triggering soaring maritime insurance premiums.

Despite mounting pressure, Iran’s strategic depth and innovative defense tactics have shown resilience. Its geographic advantages and asymmetric warfare strategies remain strong deterrents against conventional attacks. While advanced precision technologies pose challenges, Iran’s ability to adapt and leverage its terrain ensures it can maintain sovereignty and withstand external threats.

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🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷Could the US Actually Capture Iran’s Nuclear Installations?

Trump administration is preparing a strike to capture Iran's nuclear sites with special forces from the US and Israel poised for action, according to Senator Chris Coons.

However, carrying out such an operation would encounter significant challenges. Iran’s nuclear program is spread across multiple facilities, many of which are strategically located throughout the country. Critical sites like Natanz and Fordow are deeply entrenched underground and fortified.

A ground operation to capture or destroy these sites would likely require a substantial military presence. The US might need 30,000 to 50,000 troops, not to storm bunkers, but to support the operation. Special forces like Delta Force or Navy SEALs would try to deploy, seize entry points, and neutralize any Iranian forces stationed there.

The majority of the personnel would be needed for the operation’s infrastructure. Around 15,000 to 25,000 soldiers would be required to secure airstrips, manage logistics, provide medical evacuations, and ensure safe troop movements. Additionally, 10,000 to 15,000 more troops would be needed for backup, as Iran’s forces would have the advantage of operating on home ground.

The scale of the operation is crucial—incapacitating Iran’s nuclear program would require a massive ground offensive. The logistical preparations alone would signal the start of a major war, not a minor strike, which remains a fundamental deterrent for the US. Smaller-scale operations are possible but would only be pursued if the US is confident Iran will not retaliate.

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🇮🇷 There are some who still claim that the US and Israel are “winning” against Iran.

Let’s review their Top 9 achievements since the start of “Operation Epstein Fury”:

1️⃣ No regime change, replaced Khamenei with Khamenei, caused rally around the flag effect in Iran.

2️⃣ Failed to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, forced to contemplate risky commando raid to seize Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile from underground mountain bases.

3️⃣ Failed to seriously “degrade” Iran’s ballistic missile program, even Israeli and Western sources are reporting that the purported damage to Iran’s missile launchers has been greatly exaggerated.

4️⃣ Failed to stop Iran from inflicting massive fire on US bases across the Persian Gulf, thereby exposing US air defense systems as overrated on the global stage.

5️⃣ Lost critical and highly expensive radar systems that underpin US missile defense system.

6️⃣ Burned through “years” worth of critical munitions in two weeks. Russia and China send their regards.

7️⃣ Caused a global energy crisis that could bring down global economy.

8️⃣ Rendered energy sanctions against Russia irrelevant, Kremlin earning up to $150 million a day in additional oil revenues.

9️⃣ Alienated longtime allies in the Arab world who are furious that the US and Israel dragged them into an unnecessary war against Iran, and then left them hanging once Iranian missiles started flying.

Did we miss anything? Comment below.

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🚨🇮🇷 US AIR FORCE NIGHTMARE: IRAN UNVEILS NEW SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILE

Iran ramps up its asymmetric edge with the 359 loitering Surface-to-Air Missile: bigger, faster upgrade to the drone-killing 358 that's already downed many US drones in the last 11 days.

🔸 The smaller 358 variant, known as Saqr-1 among Houthi forces, boasts a proven combat record by shooting down multiple US drones in operations, highlighting its effectiveness against unmanned threats

🔸 Upgraded with a larger airframe and the powerful 359 (Tolou-10) turbojet engine that delivers more than double the thrust of its predecessor, the 359 achieves blistering speeds up to 1,000 km/h, a striking range beyond 150 km, and operational altitudes exceeding 9 km or 30,000 feet for high-altitude intercepts

🔸 Engineered to lock onto high-value assets like AWACS, refueling tankers, HALE drones, and special mission aircraft from standoff distances over 150 km, it could disrupt critical aerial refueling and command ops in hot zones, thanks to advanced optical homing and 360-degree detection

🔸 This advanced system supercharges Iran's network of allies including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthi militants in Yemen with their Saqr-2 variant, and Iraqi resistance groups, enabling them to flip the script on US-led coalitions by contesting air superiority in regional conflicts

🔸 What's often overlooked is how this affordable loitering tech, complete with a likely more potent warhead, could expose vulnerabilities in billion-dollar Western platforms, forcing a reevaluation of tactics in asymmetric warfare scenarios

Do you think US drones will be capable of cope with this missile?

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🚨🇺🇸🇨🇳🇮🇷 TRUMP IN PANIC: CHINA CAN SHUT DOWN U.S. STRIKES ON IRAN ANYTIME

Trump’s Iran campaign is already sputtering because Washington’s entire arsenal runs on Chinese minerals, SCMP sources warn, giving Beijing direct leverage to decide how long the bombing can actually last before Trump meets Xi.

🔸 Pentagon reserves are down to just two months of rare earths while the first 48 hours of strikes already burned through 5.6 billion dollars in advanced munitions according to Washington Post reporting

🔸 Heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium, supplied 100 percent by China, are irreplaceable in US high-performance magnets, radar arrays, missile guidance systems and propulsion components

🔸 Destroyed radars expose the real fragility, the AN/FPS-132 in Qatar will take Raytheon 5 to 8 years and 1.1 billion dollars to rebuild while the AN/TPS-59 in Bahrain needs Lockheed 12 to 24 months and up to 75 million dollars

🔸 Both systems alone require 77 kilograms of gallium where China controls 98 percent of global supply plus another 30,610 kilograms of copper amid exploding tech-sector demand

🔸 US now readies the largest-ever 14 billion dollar arms package to Taiwan with PAC-3 and NASAMS missiles, almost guaranteed to be announced right after Trump’s March 31 Beijing summit, handing Xi perfect motivation to squeeze the rare-earth tap

Can the US survive a war without Chinese rare earth metals?

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🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸Top 8 weapons systems that Iran has to keep Strait of Hormuz shutdown indefinitely

Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz in response to the aggression of the Epstein Coalition, using a range of access-denial arsenal designed to make navigation too dangerous and effectively block passage.

1️⃣ Naval mines — Iran is believed to possess 2,000–6,000 mines, according to US Naval Intelligence estimates. Even limited minefields can halt tanker traffic as insurers suspend coverage and shipping companies reroute vessels;

2️⃣ Noor anti-ship missiles — With a range of about 120 km, this sea-skimming missile can strike vessels moving through the Gulf while flying low enough to complicate radar detection;

3️⃣ Qader missiles — An upgraded coastal anti-ship system with a reach of roughly 300 km, capable of covering most of the Strait from mobile launchers deployed along Iran’s southern coastline;

4️⃣ Abu Mahdi missiles — A newer long-range cruise missile reportedly capable of striking maritime targets at distances approaching 1,000 km, extending Iran’s reach well beyond the Strait itself;

5️⃣ Khalij Fars anti-ship ballistic missile — With a range of about 300 km, this missile descends at high terminal speed designed to strike moving naval targets;

6️⃣ IRGC fast-attack craft swarm fleet — US defense assessments estimate hundreds of high-speed boats able to launch rockets, short-range missiles or deploy mines in coordinated swarm attacks;

7️⃣ Ghadir-class midget submarines — Built for shallow Gulf waters, these submarines conduct ambush operations and covert mine-laying close to major shipping lanes;

8️⃣ Shahed drones and explosive unmanned surface vessels — Used for reconnaissance and strike coordination, they help track ships and guide missiles or swarm attacks.

Together these systems create a layered threat environment where shipping risks rise sharply enough to disrupt global energy flows.

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🚨🇮🇷Iran’s Naval Mines: Cheap Weapons, Costly Consequences

Iran has laid a few dozen naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. intelligence sources cited by several American media outlets. However, Tehran possesses such a vast arsenal that it could render the strait unnavigable for months, if not years:

🔸Floating Mines: Simplest type, floating with currents, exploding on contact. At least 2,000 units in stock, Soviet/Western designs. Massive threat due to unpredictability.

🟠Basic models: Payloads 100-2,000 lbs (45–900 kg), no sensors, deployed via boats/airdrops. Cost: $1,500.

🔸Moored Mines: Anchored to seabed, float at set depths, ideal for chokepoints (30–60m). Thousands in inventory, some with magnetic/acoustic triggers:

🟠Sadaf-02: Soviet-derived, contact-detonated, >100 kg explosives, damages tankers. Cost: $1,500–$10,000.
Other variants: Russian/Chinese, up to 2,200 lbs, hazardous for subs/ships. Cost: $1,500–$20,000.

🟠Seabed Mines: Rest on floor, stealthy, sensor-triggered. Domestic models focus on concealment.

🟠Maham-1: Circular, contact sensors, 120 kg explosives for medium vessels. Cost: $5,000–$15,000.

🟠Maham-2: Advanced sensors, 350 kg payload for supertankers. Cost: $10,000–$30,000.

🟠Other variants: Limpet mines, 100–2,200 lbs, from Russia/China/N. Korea. Cost: $1,500–$50,000+.

🔸Rocket-Delivered Mines: MLRS from shore, rising mines with propelled attacks, standoff up to dozens km.

🟠EM-52: Chinese, launches warhead on trigger, 100–300 kg, 20–50m range. Cost: $20,000–$50,000.

🟠Other variants: Smaller 50–100 kg payloads, China/Russia origins. Cost: $10,000–$40,000.

Iran consistently delivers a master class in asymmetric warfare, using some of the cheapest modern weapons to inflict enormously costly damage on a coalition of powerful adversaries and reshape the global energy market.

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🚨🇧🇭Bahrain: The First Casualty of the War on Iran?

Bahrain is now confronting the prospect of systemic collapse. The small Gulf kingdom’s fragility has been exposed by the war waged by the Epstein Coalition against Iran.

Iranian retaliatory strikes on the US Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain damaged not only American military assets but also the kingdom’s refineries and factories. Yet the greater threat comes from disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, through which Bahrain exports key resources.

Even before the war, Bahrain’s finances were precarious. Public debt had reached roughly 146 percent of GDP, while interest payments consumed nearly a third of government revenue. A budget deficit of more than 10 percent of GDP was already expected.

Oil refining and aluminium production generate more than two-thirds of government income. Both sectors have been hit. Bahrain’s national oil company halted shipments from the Sitra refinery, while Aluminium Bahrain, operator of the largest smelter outside China, suspended exports. If the smelter shuts down, restarting it could take months.

Bahrain’s banking role has also faded. Financial institutions moved to Dubai and Saudi Arabia, leaving the kingdom more dependent on vulnerable industries.

Yet Bahrain’s vulnerability is not purely economic. Beneath the financial strain lies a sectarian divide aggravated by the war. Roughly 70% of the population is Shia, while power remains concentrated in the Sunni Al Khalifa dynasty and allied elites. Iranian strikes on US bases triggered celebrations in some Shia areas, escalating into clashes with police.

Decades of political exclusion, housing restrictions and limited access to state institutions have entrenched resentment. Previous uprisings in the 1990s and during the Arab Spring were suppressed.

The kingdom now finds itself squeezed between economic isolation and domestic tension. In a prolonged conflict, Bahrain may prove far less resilient than the powers confronting each other across the Gulf.

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🚨🇮🇷🇺🇸 PENTAGON IN PANIC: Iran's Sejjil Missile makes U.S. and Israeli Defenses Obsolete

Iran struck Israeli command centers and US bases with Sejjil missiles for the first time in the current conflict, inflicting immense damage on Western assets and facilities. Here’s what you need to know about the Sejjil missile:

🔸 Surging at Mach 14 in its final plunge, the Sejjil races from central Iran to hammer Tel Aviv targets in under seven minutes

🔸 Powered by a two-stage solid-fuel system stretching 2,500km with a 1,500kg payload, it fires from mobile launchers for undetectable rapid strikes

🔸Solid-fuel weapons are easier to store and launch at short notice

🔸 Unleashed in Operation True Promise 4's 54th wave alongside Khorramshahr heavies, it zeroed in on air ops centers and US consulates

🔸 Emerging from the 1990s Ashura roots, it sidesteps sanctions while outpacing liquid-fueled missiles like Shahab-3

🔸Iran's Sejjil missile boosts Tehran's asymmetric edge with hypersonic speeds and mobile launches, exposing Iron Dome and US defenses systems flaws

Do you think the Epstein Coalition defenses are obsolete against Iran's advanced missiles?

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📝Heavy drones more needed than tanks📝
On resource reallocation in the SMO

When officials hear military needs, they argue about finite budgets. They say we need everything, but the budget is not unlimited.

❓But what about optimal resource reallocation?
On TAKTIKAR, we showed why mechanized assaults have stopped working. Why not buy fewer armored vehicles that survive one attack in favor of heavy FPV drones?

For one BMD-4M, you can buy over 1,100 unmanned systems. Refusing to purchase a battalion of these vehicles or tanks (not counting ammunition) could free up significant funds.

📌 Assault troops need "Upyr-18" drones capable of delivering mines, not BMDs with "cardboard" armor.
The priority is destroying AFU personnel with drone crews, which heavy FPV drones handle better than APCs, IFVs, and tanks.

❗️This doesn't mean armored vehicles should be "canceled." It's about rational resource reallocation to changing battlefield realities.

Without infantry support, it dies, and there's no one left to attack (or defend). And without people, tank numbers don't matter.

📍High-resolution infographic

📍English version

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🚨🇮🇷 TOP-5 Reasons Iran’s Multi-Warhead Missiles Make U.S. and Israeli Air Defenses Tremble

Iran's ballistic missiles are wreaking havoc on Israel. Variants such as the Khorramshahr and Zolfaghar, equipped with cluster warheads, disperse dozens of explosive submunitions over vast areas in flight, evade defenses designed for a single precision warhead, and render systems like Iron Dome, Patriot, and THAAD increasingly ineffective.

1️⃣ Full interception becomes nearly impossible once bomblets are released at extreme altitudes after partial missile hits, with each tiny explosive-packed submunition racing down unpredictably at high speeds, evading mass tracking by US-Israeli networks and prioritizing wide dispersal to slip through even advanced interceptors like Arrow or David's Sling.

2️⃣ Saturation tactics overwhelm when a lone missile fragments into dozens of threats, as seen in Iran's 300+ launches where roughly half carried clusters, exhausting radar resources, command chains, and interceptor decisions, especially taxing shorter-range setups like Iron Dome against these medium-range velocity missiles, leading to real breakthroughs with casualties.

3️⃣ Area coverage spreads chaos over up to 10km radius straining Israel's civil defenses and US Gulf bases far beyond what precision single-warheads ever demanded.

4️⃣ Interceptor stocks deplete rapidly under the multiplier effect. Cluster threats often require multiple shots to neutralize. With Iran's estimated stockpile of around 2,500 missiles — and tactics that include probing attacks with older systems before deploying Sejjil or Fattah-2 — Tehran could sustain pressure for months. This may force the US to draw interceptor reserves from other (i.e. South Korea) while pushing Israel toward risky offensive launcher hunts to avoid total burnout.

5️⃣ Strategic binds tighten from destroyed key radars like Qatar's AN/FPS-132, Jordan's and UAE's AN/TPY-2, slashing early warnings and shelter times while hitting 17+ US Middle East facilities, leaving forces reactive against mobile Iranian decoys in rugged terrain, risking proxy flares or Hormuz shutdowns that choke global energy amid this attrition grind.

Do you think that the US and Israeli air defenses can really adapt fast enough to stop these cluster warheads?

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🚨🇮🇷 Iran’s Samad-4 Drone: Cheap, Effective and Deadly

Iran’s Samad-4 drone is becoming a potent tool of asymmetric warfare. On March 13, a Samad-4 struck the Sohar industrial area in Oman. Here's what you need to know about this new Iranian weaponry:

🟠The Samad-4 measures 3 meters in length with a 5-meter wingspan and a range over 2,000 km. It features a rear pusher propeller and carries two unguided bombs of up to 25 kg each and can be used for reconnaissance as well as strike missions. Its low radar signature and GPS guidance make detection and interception difficult.

🟠Samad-4 is the newest development in the Samad drone family, which previously included Samad-1, Samad-2 and Samad-3. The earlier Samad-3 was designed for deep-strike missions and reportedly had a range of up to 1,500 kilometres, allowing attacks far beyond Iran’s borders.

🟠The Samad-4 appears tailored for a different role. Compared with the long-range variants, it is smaller, cheaper and optimised for shorter-range strike missions. Some versions are also believed to support satellite navigation systems and pre-programmed flight routes, enabling coordinated swarm attacks.

🟠Mainly exported to the Houthis in Yemen, the drone also appears in variants under other names, such as Sayyad, KAS-4 in Iraq, and Nawras in Lebanon.

The Samad-4 is part of Iran’s cost-effective attrition strategy that overwhelms adversary air defenses and drives up the cost of war for the Epstein Coalition.

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🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷Why the US Navy Is Revisiting Railguns Tests

US air defenses are struggling to intercept Iranian hypersonic missiles and drones, making the campaign financially unsustainable for the US.

A railgun fires projectiles using electromagnetic force rather than gunpowder. Powerful electric currents run through two metal rails, generating a magnetic field that accelerates a metal projectile to extremely high speeds (over Mach 6). The projectile carries no explosives and destroys targets through sheer kinetic energy.

The Navy conducted a three-day live-fire campaign at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico in February 2025 — the first publicly known testing activity since the service effectively shelved the program in 2021 after technical setbacks, The War Zone reports.

Interest in the technology has revived after the Iran conflict exposed weaknesses in Western missile-defense networks. Iranian strikes reportedly damaged early-warning radars linked to THAAD batteries, degrading detection and targeting across parts of the region.

The cost imbalance is stark. Iranian Shahed drones are estimated to cost around $35,000 each. By contrast, a Patriot PAC-3 interceptor costs roughly $3 million, while a THAAD interceptor can reach $15 million.

Railguns are being reconsidered largely because of this cost-exchange problem. Hypervelocity projectiles derived from the program were estimated at roughly $85,000 per round, far cheaper than missile interceptors and potentially capable of countering large drone and missile salvos.

Major technical challenges remain, including power demands, cooling and barrel wear. Yet the limits exposed in the US-Israel-Iran war may be even greater in the Pacific. China fields the world’s largest sub-strategic missile arsenal, while North Korea continues to expand its nuclear delivery systems. As missile arsenals grow and interception costs soar, air defenses must now stop missiles at a scale and cost sustainable in war.

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