Air-Defense Stockpile Pressure and Counter-UAS Expansion

Low-cost Iranian drones and increasingly fast jet-powered Shahed variants are stressing layered defenses and exposing the limits of machine guns and legacy systems. PAC-3 Edge, NG-SRI, Marine Tamir/MRIC, Fortem-MBDA Sky Warden, autonomous counter-UAS and directed-energy programs seek more affordable answers, while Sweden’s planned Patriot defense of the Rzeszów aid hub reinforces NATO’s urgent air-defense burden-sharing.