Quote of the day by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt: 'A $5,000 drone can destroy a $5 million tank' — pithy insights about the future of warfare

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Armed conflict in the 21st century is looking considerably different from the wars of yesteryear, thanks to huge technological advancements

Eric Schmidt
(Image credit: Official LeWeb/Flickr/CC-by-2.0)

Eric Schmidt has enjoyed a long career in the technology industry, including a decade at the helm of Google. Since then, he's been heavily involved in the realm of defense – and has had a thing or two to say about the new reality of conflicts around the globe.

"The world has an awful lot of tanks. Those tanks are largely useless now. A $5,000 drone can destroy a $5 million tank. I read somewhere that the US had thousands and thousands of tanks stored somewhere. Give them away. Buy a drone instead. In fact, buy 10, buy 20, buy 50, buy 100."

Modern warfare

Schmidt was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Saudi Arabia about the rise of drone-based warfare, contrasting this with the historic prevalence of tanks and armored vehicles.

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The cost-to-damage ratio is incredibly favorable, as he urged the US and Western allies to transition away from legacy tech in favor of drones and other related technologies at the heart of a new kind of warfare.

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His expertise in this realm comes primarily from his role advising the US government and military on technology, with the former Google CEO chairing the Defense Innovation Board from March 2016. This organization primarily connects the tech sector with the Pentagon.

Between 2019 and 2021, Schmidt also co-chaired the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which had a mission to make recommendations to the US president and Congress on the role of AI in the future of defense.

Look to the skies

Schmidt's comments came two-and-a-half years following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a war that's been defined by next-generation technologies including robotics and drones.

Ukraine has, for example, used AI drones to strike vital Russian supply lines, while in recent weeks, news emerged that Russia has also stepped up use of jet-powered drones that can hit speeds of up to 500 km/h against its adversary.

Drones are incredibly cheap compared with technologies used in the past – and they're also incredibly effective. We also see examples of the way drones have been used in the conflict between the US-Israeli forces and Iran.

Keumars Afifi-Sabet
Keumars Afifi-Sabet
Freelance Contributor

Keumars Afifi-Sabet is a freelance contributor for Tech Radar and the Technology Editor for Live Science. He has written for a variety of publications including ITPro, The Week Digital and ComputerActive. He has worked as a technology journalist for more than five years, having previously held the role of features editor with ITPro. In his previous role, he oversaw the commissioning and publishing of long form in areas including AI, cyber security, cloud computing and digital transformation.

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