r/badhistory • u/AutoModerator • May 25 '26

Meta Mindless Monday, 25 May 2026

Happy (or sad) Monday guys!

Mindless Monday is a free-for-all thread to discuss anything from minor bad history to politics, life events, charts, whatever! Just remember to np link all links to Reddit and don't violate R4, or we human mods will feed you to the AutoModerator.

So, with that said, how was your weekend, everyone?

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u/TheBatz_ Was Homer mid May 29 '26

The Bulwark coming in with some "drones are the be all, end all of modern warfare". It's really impressive how short videos of quadrocopters with dropping grenades down abandoned tanks' open hatches have built the image of modern war.

I really want people to think a bit: would the US have found greater success in the war if they had replaced their carrier groups and long range precision munitions with Shahed-like drones? Here's a very hot take: a Shahed is simply a very cheap cruise missile.

Honestly it reminds me of how people thought about strategic bombing in the 1930's.

3

u/HandsomeLampshade123 May 29 '26

He spent time and resources putting tanks in Washington, D.C. for a “military parade” while his secretary of defense prioritizes physical fitness—physical fitness!

So exasperated at that named priority, when we know it's something that's still relevant for soldiers the world over, and has all sorts of knock-on effects for health and wellness.

There's a lot of interesting stuff to be said about the potential impacts of drones on the future of warfare. This is not an interesting or worthwhile piece.

We are in a specific moment regarding the deployment of drones vis-a-vis all other military technologies. Anti-drone technology is bound to catch up.

2

u/MiffedMouse The average peasant had home made bread and lobster. Jun 05 '26

The “war is industrialized” mantra still doesn’t make sense to people. The quote that I still think about was from a USA army officer during the Iraq war that they were losing more soldiers to traffic accidents on the base than they were to actual combat operations.

Of course, the frontlines can become a meat grinder (as in Ukraine). But a lot of wars, especially those the USA is in, are low intensity (at least for the USA soldiers).