Ask the populace of Ukraine what modern warfare looks like, because the US and its allies haven&#x27;t been fighting any modern wars for a while.<p>Russia and China haven&#x27;t stood still over the past 15 years while we&#x27;ve been otherwise engaged. What we&#x27;ve done with drones has been excellent, but you&#x27;re not going to be loitering for hours over enemy airspace in a &quot;modern war&quot; against even a close peer adversary.<p>Drones have a part to play in modern warfare - and some of the smaller man portable versions are going to be revolutionary. But the ones capable of playing in the big leagues where you&#x27;d quite like them to come back are just as expensive as manned aircraft.