Germany’s €10 Billion Drone Spree: A Lesson Not Learned?
Germany plans to inject €10 billion into military drones, supposedly to 'protect European and NATO airspace,' per Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, as enthusiastically reported by Bloomberg Politics. This massive procurement comes without a whisper of the very real-world consequences of drone proliferation—consequences routinely omitted from mainstream reports favoring defense budgets. These
aren't just 'airspace protectors'; they're instruments changing the face of modern warfare, often with devastating civilian tolls. One might wonder if the past few decades of global conflicts, marked by drone strikes in Yemen, Palestine, and Afghanistan – each generating more enemies than solutions – have taught Western powers anything. Or perhaps the 'protection' is less about defense and more
about ensuring that the next proxy conflict, funded by NATO members, is fought with the most efficient, ethically ambiguous technology available. It seems only civilian casualty counts are not included in the investment calculus.