WEBVTT - It's One Soft Target Out There: Mike Lyons Talks to A&G

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<v Speaker 1>This is a TAC number of one sixty or so.

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<v Speaker 1>So Joe, I am one who is always let's try

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<v Speaker 1>the diplomacy, let's try the incremental steps here. I think

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<v Speaker 1>we are at the point where what is necessary is

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<v Speaker 1>a hammer blow against the proxies. I'll expand on that

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<v Speaker 1>in one moment if that doesn't have the intended effect.

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<v Speaker 1>And yes, it's time to go after Iran.

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<v Speaker 2>That's former NATO commander James trevetis Man. I took in

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<v Speaker 2>a lot of cable news yesterday after this news broke,

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<v Speaker 2>and I didn't see a military analyst who didn't say

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<v Speaker 2>deterrence has not worked. We've known this for a long time.

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<v Speaker 2>That seemed to be pretty upset with this result. And yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I think they were holding back. Help said they were well.

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<v Speaker 2>Mike Lyons joins us.

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<v Speaker 3>Mike the excellent military analyst from CNN among other places. Mike,

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<v Speaker 3>it's always great to have you. It's a frustrating day, though.

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<v Speaker 4>Oh coome on, guys. This is particularly bad because we

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<v Speaker 4>fail to protect our forces. That's really what this comes

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<v Speaker 4>down to. This throne was able to get to the

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<v Speaker 4>air defense platform whatever we had there to protect them

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<v Speaker 4>and basically attack soldiers while they slept. Now, if there's

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<v Speaker 4>one thing that we expect as a soldier in the

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<v Speaker 4>United States is that our government will take care of

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<v Speaker 4>us and protect us. And we have great equipment. But

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<v Speaker 4>this is inexcusable, the fact that this got through, in

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<v Speaker 4>the fact that the airspace was violated the way it was,

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<v Speaker 4>And again, yeah, I have no words. This is a

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<v Speaker 4>very predictable event. We've talked about this for months and

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<v Speaker 4>now the administration has come home to roost and now

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<v Speaker 4>we're going to see what happened because we run out

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<v Speaker 4>the clock. There's no way We've all have this DISI

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<v Speaker 4>will reaction. We want to attack back, but what are

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<v Speaker 4>we going to attack. There's all these militia groups that

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<v Speaker 4>scattered to the winds. There's no real target out there,

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<v Speaker 4>So this is just going to go on for a

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<v Speaker 4>long time before we get any kind of revenge on

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<v Speaker 4>this attack.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, why don't we hit Iran hard and then hope

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<v Speaker 2>they can rain in their groups. Isn't that the easiest

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<v Speaker 2>way to do it?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, that would be terrific. I'd like to see, for example,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, take their navy and put it at the

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<v Speaker 4>bottom of the Persian Gulf and there's lots of things

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<v Speaker 4>we can do, but this is still an administration that's

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<v Speaker 4>just not willing to escalate. And it's we've got this

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<v Speaker 4>almost like a twenty year now malaise of not wanting

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<v Speaker 4>to win, and we've just we've forgotten how to win.

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<v Speaker 4>And what it takes is just that we've tried to turns.

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<v Speaker 4>We've tried all of these things from the diploma, you know,

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<v Speaker 4>diplomatic perspective. But to Admistrebuss point, it's now it's over.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, we're at a we're in a low grade

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<v Speaker 4>conflict with Iran, and it's surely want to when they

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<v Speaker 4>want us out of there. And the question is just

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<v Speaker 4>going to bounce to is what you know, what we're

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<v Speaker 4>going to do about it.

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<v Speaker 2>By the way, your tough talk is echoed in the

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<v Speaker 2>Wall Street Journal, their editorial board today said, put Iranian

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<v Speaker 2>ships that have been prowling the Red Sea on the

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<v Speaker 2>ocean floor. That's from the Wall Street Journal.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, here's one in particular, that's yeah, that's supporting the

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<v Speaker 4>housies and collecting intelligence. And we know it's all there,

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<v Speaker 4>and you know, we just don't feel its own issues

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<v Speaker 4>right there could be on the brink of someone of

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<v Speaker 4>a collapse themselves internally, They've got their challenges, and we

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<v Speaker 4>just we just are whatever reason, we just fail to

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<v Speaker 4>you know, put them over the top, and we just

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<v Speaker 4>we're not willing to protect our forces at the same time, So.

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<v Speaker 3>I have I have struggled to come up with a

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<v Speaker 3>you know, a diplomatic excuse, reason, rationale for this lack

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<v Speaker 3>of a serious response, and that was the only thing

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<v Speaker 3>I can come up with. But at some point I'm

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<v Speaker 3>reminded of Maya Angelou's famous phrase that you know, when

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<v Speaker 3>somebody tries to tell you what kind of person they are,

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<v Speaker 3>believe them. Well, when an administration tries to show you

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<v Speaker 3>what sort of administration it is, over and over and

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<v Speaker 3>over again, from the abandonment of Afghanistan, the disastrous exit,

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<v Speaker 3>to the lack of response here, it's just it shocks

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<v Speaker 3>me how feckless they are, how they will take no action,

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<v Speaker 3>remind the right or wrong action.

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<v Speaker 4>It's just in action, right, It's a it's a world

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<v Speaker 4>they want to believe exists, of more globalism. We're all

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<v Speaker 4>going to get along. You know, America has enemies. It's

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<v Speaker 4>a challenge every day to think it through. But you know,

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<v Speaker 4>this is not an administration, And the problem is this

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<v Speaker 4>is now going to be It's going to go on

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<v Speaker 4>for months and perhaps years if we don't start to

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<v Speaker 4>fix it. We've got to start rearming. We have to

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<v Speaker 4>start doing things to make sure that other countries don't

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<v Speaker 4>feel the same way. Look, this situation could easily spill

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<v Speaker 4>over to the Pacific with regard to China. China looking

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<v Speaker 4>at us and saying, how are they reacting to this?

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<v Speaker 4>Will they do anything if we go into Taiwan. I

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<v Speaker 4>think that's pretty clear we won't.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah to your point about the troops sleeping in their barracks,

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<v Speaker 2>my brother spent many a night sleeping in a whole

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<v Speaker 2>bunch of different places around the Middle East when he

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<v Speaker 2>was active duty, and I would be horrified if this

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<v Speaker 2>were going on. If you're so, I mean, it's just

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<v Speaker 2>it's just it's just hard to even believe it's real.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, it's a one soft target out there. If you

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<v Speaker 4>look at that part of the world on a map,

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<v Speaker 4>it's one of the most auste places on the planet,

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<v Speaker 4>and everything has been brought in built up there. There's

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<v Speaker 4>not you know, there's not a lot of hard stands,

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<v Speaker 4>there's not a lot of ways to protect yourself and

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<v Speaker 4>and and again you look at the fact that they

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<v Speaker 4>let someone come in, and we should create that entire

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<v Speaker 4>no fly zone. Now, nothing now should be flying in

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<v Speaker 4>that that part of the world. We're gonna have to

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<v Speaker 4>put the Air Force and Navy.

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<v Speaker 3>Back to work.

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<v Speaker 4>But that's that's the kind of thing that we in

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<v Speaker 4>our forces.

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<v Speaker 3>Speaking of navy, Mike, I know several of our allies

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<v Speaker 3>have taken a pretty active role in protecting shipping in

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<v Speaker 3>that part of the world, from the Brits to the Indians.

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<v Speaker 3>Do you have any sense of how much naval brawn

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<v Speaker 3>they could bring to backing us up and whether they

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<v Speaker 3>might be willing to.

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<v Speaker 4>It's not as much as we would like. We'd have

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<v Speaker 4>to deploy another carrier group. I think from the people

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<v Speaker 4>I've talked to in Norfolk, we know that the the

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<v Speaker 4>Eisenhower just got there was a General four that just

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<v Speaker 4>got back. But I wouldn't be surprised if they turn

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<v Speaker 4>around and go back here within the next nine to

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<v Speaker 4>twelve months. They recognize that the only way to project

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<v Speaker 4>power there is to bring destroyers and cruisers into the region.

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<v Speaker 4>Those other navies don't have that same level of objection

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<v Speaker 4>of naval assets. So while while I think it's good

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<v Speaker 4>we're gaining allies, it's the kind of thing we did

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<v Speaker 4>during Desert Storm. They just don't bring enough military to

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<v Speaker 4>the table, unfortunately.

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<v Speaker 2>So I came across this nugget, and now I was

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<v Speaker 2>trying to look up whether it was true or not.

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<v Speaker 2>I heard that we had not had any forces killed

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<v Speaker 2>by an enemy air strike since the Korean War, right,

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<v Speaker 2>because we have controlled the airspace whenever we have troops

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<v Speaker 2>you know, in harm's.

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<v Speaker 4>Way, right exactly, We've always controlled the airspace. And that's

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<v Speaker 4>what's most concerning about this, which is what this administration is,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, wants to slide under the rug. Here is

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<v Speaker 4>the fact, you know that we've lost control of the

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<v Speaker 4>air domain and we allowed an enemy to come in.

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<v Speaker 4>And again it's a nation state, you know, a bunch

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<v Speaker 4>of Hooti rebels or she A militia groups are not

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<v Speaker 4>assembling drones within their within their purview. That's coming from

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<v Speaker 4>a state, It's coming from some kind of sponsor there.

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<v Speaker 4>So that's where this I think is really the most

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<v Speaker 4>egregious of the entire operation.

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<v Speaker 3>CNN military analyst Mike Lyons on the line with US Mike,

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<v Speaker 3>speaking of the drones, as you know better than I do.

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<v Speaker 3>The history of military conflict is a history of technology.

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<v Speaker 3>I think this introduction, and it's been huge in Ukraine

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<v Speaker 3>of these cheap, easily acquired and armed drones is going

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<v Speaker 3>to have huge effects on warfare going forward, and or

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<v Speaker 3>just the stationing of troops.

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<v Speaker 4>No question. And we still haven't seen them deployed in

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<v Speaker 4>even more creative ways. We haven't seen them, for example,

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<v Speaker 4>in swarm formations. This was a suicide drone that you know,

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<v Speaker 4>leaves its station, comes never to return one target has

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<v Speaker 4>payload on it, you know. And our drones are equipped

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<v Speaker 4>at rocketter more like planes that decline and return back

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<v Speaker 4>to base. But we've not seen these. If they just

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<v Speaker 4>just deployed a thousand of these at once, I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>if they would completely overwhelm air defense systems, and so

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<v Speaker 4>we still haven't yet seen. We're at the beginning of

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<v Speaker 4>what the drone technology is going to bring to the battlefield.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think that as our enemy gets more creative

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<v Speaker 4>and than we are, unfortunately, they're going to start doing

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<v Speaker 4>those kinds of things and creating more kinds of damage.

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<v Speaker 3>Military analyst Mike lyons, Mike, thanks, we appreciate the wisdom

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<v Speaker 3>very much and look forward to chatting again soon.

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<v Speaker 4>Thanks thanks for having me Armstrong and Getty