Nolan Peterson is a former U.S. Air Force pilot and a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. After missions as an Air Force Special Operations pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan, I would let down my guard when I returned to base. Drone technology has brought a new reality to modern warfare, and what we’ve seen in Iran is just the tip of the iceberg. Although survival hinges on not being at the wrong place at the wrong time, I’ve seen how Ukrainian troops have gotten used to daily shelling. Even for battle-hardened Ukrainian troops, the prolific threat of small Russian drones elicits a different kind of fear.

Source: Washington Post March 16, 2026 18:45 UTC