Why Drones Can’t Replace Traditional Firepower

Why Drones Can’t Replace Traditional Firepower

Author: Silverado Policy Accelerator August 6, 2025 Duration: 48:38
Dmitri Alperovitch talks to air power expert Justin Bronk about why it's a bad idea for Western militaries to follow Ukraine's lead and overly invest in production of small drones like FPVs and other loitering munitions. They also dive into best counter-drone strategies, as well as the implications of Ukraine's Operation SpiderWeb and Israel's forward deployed drones neutralizing Iranian air defenses during Operations Rising Lion for strategies to protect aircraft and air-defenses against such threats. 00:00 Introduction 00:28 Why NATO Should Not Follow Ukraine Into Overreliance on Drones 09:22 Small FPVs vs Other Drone Types 15:42 Best Strategy for Effective Anti Drone Defense 26:06 Would Ukraine Be Better Off Spending Money on Conventional Systems? 28:01 Orchestration of Combined Arms Warfare 29:11 Does Ukraine Need More FPVs or Artillery? 31:33 Can America Afford to Invest in Both Small Drones and Conventional Systems? 34:06 Options for Neutralizing Air Defenses 36:53 The State of Russian Air Defenses 38:53 How to Protect Air Forces Against Operation SpiderWeb-style drone tactics 44:35 Assessing the Efficacy of Ukrainian F-16s    NATO Should Not Replace Traditional Firepower with ‘Drones’: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/rusi-defence-systems/nato-should-not-replace-traditional-firepower-drones

Hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch and presented by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, Geopolitics Decanted offers a deep and nuanced examination of the forces shaping our world. This isn't about quick headlines; it's a podcast dedicated to patient, detailed analysis and substantive conversations with leading experts. Each episode distills complex international issues, moving beyond superficial narratives to explore the underlying strategies, technologies, and economic instruments at play. You'll hear focused discussions on ongoing conflicts like the war in Ukraine, the multifaceted competition between major powers, and the evolving tools of statecraft, from economic sanctions and export controls to cybersecurity threats and the global race for semiconductor supremacy. Geopolitics Decanted is for those who feel that understanding global affairs requires more than sound bites-it demands context, historical perspective, and a willingness to engage with the granular details that truly define geopolitical shifts. Through these in-depth interviews and Alperovitch's own commentary, the podcast provides listeners with a clearer, more comprehensive framework for making sense of an increasingly interconnected and contested global landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch
Podcast Episodes
Slicing the Sausage: Ukraine’s Upcoming Counteroffensive [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:07
In this podcast Dmitri Alperovitch interviews Sergii Grabskyi, a Reserve Colonel in the Ukrainian military, about Ukraine’s upcoming counteroffensive. Michael Kofman, Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Progr…
How Russia Engineered the Perfect Gas Crisis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:04
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with energy markets and russian oil and gas sector expert Sergey Vakulenko (formerly with Gazprom Neft, Royal Dutch Shell and IHS Markit) about how Russia is engineering an energy crisis in Europ…
Why Giving Ukraine F-16s Makes Sense [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:10
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Retired UK Air Marshall Greg Bagwell, former Deputy Commander of Operations at RAF Air Command, about how the West can overcome training, logistical, transportation, maintenance, repair and…
The War of Attrition: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (June 19, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:31
June 19, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) about the new developments in the war in Ukraine on Twitter Spaces. T…
The Long War: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (June 5, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:53
June 5, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) and Rob Lee (Senior Fellow at the Eurasia Program of the Foreign Polic…
How Moskva Was Sunk: Analysis of the war in Ukraine (May 8, 2022) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:10
May 8, 2022: Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Michael Kofman (Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis) and US Navy Capt. Chris Carlson (Ret.) about the new developments in th…