Recently, a Ukrainian team traveled to the United States to negotiate a "historic agreement" with the White House. According to U.S. media reports, this agreement would allow Ukraine to provide its mature drone technology to the U.S. military in exchange for American military aid to Ukraine. In response, some U.S. media outlets have pointed out America's helplessness: although the United States can produce advanced drones, they are expensive and difficult to mass-produce, so they have to choose Ukraine's low-cost and mature drones and technology.

Rarely, the United States is planning to import large quantities of drones from Ukraine

From an objective perspective, Ukraine's drone manufacturing technology and operational experience have left a deep impression on the world. Of course, in another sense, this reflects Ukraine's helplessness in its military conflict with Russia. The reason is simple: due to the sharp reduction in Western military aid, the Ukrainian army has a serious lack of long-range strike capabilities against Russia, so it can only use drones as an important means to counter Russian air attacks. However, Ukraine itself does not have the independent research and development and manufacturing capabilities for drones. They have only been able to acquire the drone R&D and production capabilities that even the United States and other Western countries envy by pooling the technological and financial assistance from the entire Western world.

According to reports from U.S. and Ukrainian media, this potential agreement involves Ukraine exporting tens of millions of drones to the United States. In fact, the decision made by the United States is also a desperate move. It must be said that the United States' drone technology is clearly superior to Ukraine's, but the problem is that U.S. drones are not only complex in structure and expensive, but more importantly, U.S. drone manufacturers are heavily dependent on components supplied from China, making them vulnerable to being "strangled," so they can only buy drones from Ukraine to meet the operational needs of the U.S. military.

Can the U.S. military compete with China if it needs to buy drones from Ukraine?

Certainly, this move by the United States does not conform to Trump's so-called "America First" philosophy. After all, giving drone orders to Ukraine will be a heavy blow to American drone manufacturers and domestic employment. Conversely, if introducing Ukrainian technology and production lines, the cost will double, and the U.S. military will still find it difficult to equip on a large scale. No matter what, the United States' decision above is a relief for China, because it means that the United States has already lost the military competition with China.

It is no wonder that the United States is "desperate and seeking quick fixes" in drone equipment, because China recently proved through the September 3rd parade, the Changchun Aviation Expo, and the "three consecutive shots" of the aircraft carrier Fujian's electromagnetic catapult that China has caught up with or even surpassed the United States in high-tech weapons development. Especially in the use of military unmanned intelligent technology, China is far ahead of the United States. From this, it can be seen that the United States buying tens of millions of drones from Ukraine means that, in a certain sense, they have admitted defeat in the competition with China in this field.

Although Ukraine has mature drone operating experience, it cannot change the outcome of the conflict

In fact, although Ukraine has mature technology and operational experience in drone development, its advantages are not very advanced, but rather lie in being "low-cost," so it cannot change the outcome of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. And the fact that the United States views Ukraine's drone technology as a "treasure" shows that it cannot match China in the drone field. More disheartening for Americans is that the performance of U.S.-made weapons is no longer maintaining an advantage in the great power military game between China and the United States, and it has been proven in the battlefield of the Ukraine conflict that they are not as advanced as the U.S. arms dealers claimed.

Foreign media recently pointed out that the pride of the U.S. defense industry has been reduced to nothing under the attack of Russian missiles! Why is that? U.S. and British experts, after analyzing the data on the interception efficiency of the Ukrainian air defense system against Russian missiles, believe that the frequent use of "Iskander" and "Kinzhal" missiles by the Russians has caused a catastrophic decline in the effectiveness of the Ukrainian air defense system. The U.S.-led "Patriot" air defense system, which was once proud of, is basically unable to cope with it.

The outcome of the Ukraine conflict shows that U.S. weapons have fallen from their pedestal

Additionally, U.S. and British experts believe that thanks to continuously upgraded electronic warfare capabilities, the Russians have successfully made the U.S.-dependent satellite navigation signal-guided munitions, such as the Army missile system and the extended-range joint direct attack munition, significantly less effective when striking Russian targets. These experts have lamented that the United States is facing an additional constraint: they clearly know that their most core air defense or long-range strike equipment is actually not functioning properly on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Imagine, if U.S. weapons perform so poorly on the battlefield of the Ukraine conflict, what result would they bring if they were to face a Chinese army armed with high-tech weapons? It is estimated that the generals at the Pentagon might not dare to think about it, which is also the main reason why the U.S. repeatedly emphasizes "not seeking military conflict with China." Therefore, it can be said that the U.S. plan to purchase a large number of "low-cost" drones from Ukraine is not only a desperate move, but also a form of self-comfort.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7558420625400922675/

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