Description
States have consistently misjudged the speed, scale, and diffusion pathways of the drone revolution. While governments focused on high-end platforms and traditional export controls, the real transformation occurred through commercial supply chains, illicit component flows, and the rapid adaptation of open architectures by state and non-state actors alike. This paper draws on emerging evidence from conflict zones and findings from ongoing research on semiconductor and robotics supply chains to show how overlooked vulnerabilities, permissive markets, and fragmented regulation enabled a global surge in low-cost robotics.
