Geopolitics Decanted is a podcast featuring geopolitical analysis and in-depth expert interviews on topics ranging from War in Ukraine, Great Power Competition with China, changing nature of warfare, sanctions and export controls, semiconductors and cybersecurity. This is a podcast for people who care about the details and are seeking a comprehensive understanding of global issues, not just the sound bytes.
It is hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch, Chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator (www.silverado.org), a Washington DC-based non-profit with a mission to promote prosperity and global competitiveness for America and its allies by accelerating bipartisan strategic, economic and technological policy solutions.
Episodes
Tuesday Aug 05, 2025
Tuesday Aug 05, 2025
Dmitri Alperovitch talks to air power expert Justin Bronk about why it's a bad idea for Western militaries to follow Ukraine's lead and overly invest in production of small drones like FPVs and other loitering munitions. They also dive into best counter-drone strategies, as well as the implications of Ukraine's Operation SpiderWeb and Israel's forward deployed drones neutralizing Iranian air defenses during Operations Rising Lion for strategies to protect aircraft and air-defenses against such threats.
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Why NATO Should Not Follow Ukraine Into Overreliance on Drones
09:22 Small FPVs vs Other Drone Types
15:42 Best Strategy for Effective Anti Drone Defense
26:06 Would Ukraine Be Better Off Spending Money on Conventional Systems?
28:01 Orchestration of Combined Arms Warfare
29:11 Does Ukraine Need More FPVs or Artillery?
31:33 Can America Afford to Invest in Both Small Drones and Conventional Systems?
34:06 Options for Neutralizing Air Defenses
36:53 The State of Russian Air Defenses
38:53 How to Protect Air Forces Against Operation SpiderWeb-style drone tactics
44:35 Assessing the Efficacy of Ukrainian F-16s
NATO Should Not Replace Traditional Firepower with ‘Drones’: https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/rusi-defence-systems/nato-should-not-replace-traditional-firepower-drones
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