“Iranians built a very cheap drone they could use against U.S. allies in [the Middle East] region,” Bendett explains. Russia is currently mass-producing 5,500 of such strike drones per month, while continuously tweaking them to improve accuracy, destructiveness, and survivability against defenses. He explains that Russians are mainly using the strike drones on poorly-defended, stationary civilian targets. Unfortunately, simply flying a jet fighter may cost the same amount as manufacturing an entire Shahed drone, with flight hour costs typically ranging from $20,000 to $44,000. “No single technology is enough to interdict all incoming Shaheds,” Bendett says.