{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1645676,
        "msgid": "the-arithmetic-of-war-2-0-1774943665",
        "date": "2026-03-31 13:15:55",
        "title": "The Arithmetic of War 2.0",
        "author": "Budi Raharjo",
        "source": "REPUBLIKA",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Technology",
        "summary": "Fareed Zakaria highlights how modern warfare has evolved into a cost-effective, mathematically driven affair dominated by cheap drones and AI, exemplified by Iran's use of low-cost Shahed drones against expensive US and Israeli Patriot interceptors. This \"precise mass\" approach creates an economic trap, forcing adversaries to expend vast sums to counter inexpensive threats, while broader shifts incorporate autonomous systems, satellite imagery, and cyber elements into a new war architecture. The US Pentagon's Replicator programme signals a pivot towards affordable, mass-produced technologies, ironically emulating Iranian models and challenging the dominance of high-end weaponry.",
        "content": "<p>In the past, we were taught that war was about courage, strategy, and\na bit of luck\u2014like a national exam with the risk of life at stake. But\nnow, according to CNN host and columnist Fareed Zakaria, war has become\nsomething colder, more mathematical, and\u2014most disturbingly\u2014cheaper. Yes,\ncheap. A word we usually use for year-end discounts has now become the\nkey term in efficient killing. In the first week of Iran\u2019s retaliatory\nattacks, around 71% of the strikes were carried out by drones. The\nUnited Arab Emirates alone received more than 1,400 drones and hundreds\nof missiles from Iran in eight days. This is not just war; it is a\nrunning spreadsheet. Every number is not merely a statistic, but a\nprojectile with an address. This is where the concept that Fareed\nZakaria calls \u201cprecise mass\u201d becomes reality. Precision is no longer the\nexclusive domain of major powers with Tomahawk missiles or stealth jets.\nNow, precision can be mass-produced, like cheap, quick, and plentiful\nfritters from a roadside stall. Let us talk numbers, because this is\nwhere tragedy turns into logic. One Iranian Shahed-type drone costs\naround $35,000. Meanwhile, one US and Israeli Patriot interceptor costs\naround $4 million. That means, to shoot down one cheap drone, they must\nspend enough money to buy more than a hundred new drones. This is not\njust an imbalance. It is an economic trap. The US and Israel, as\naggressors against Iran, are burning millions of dollars, while Iran, as\nthe defender, is burning thousands. Even their success in defence feels\nlike a slow loss. Like someone who manages to put out a fire, but whose\nhouse is already gone. However, this revolution does not stop at drones.\nZakaria emphasises something far larger regarding the \u201cnew architecture\nof war\u201d. War now is a complex orchestration between cheap autonomous\nsystems, artificial intelligence for targeting, commercial satellite\nimagery, disruption-resistant communication networks, integrated\nsensors, and cyber devices. War is no longer about one superior weapon.\nIt is about an ecosystem. Like the human body, where it is not just\nmuscles that determine strength, but also nerves, blood, and reflexes.\nAnd those reflexes are now accelerated brutally. In US military\nexperiments, machines can generate recommendations in less than ten\nseconds, with 30 times more options than a human team. Imagine a war\ngeneral replaced by a dashboard, and life-and-death decisions determined\nby processor speed. At this point, humans start to feel like a\nbottleneck hindering a system that demands absolute speed. It is no\nwonder that the US Pentagon itself is changing direction. Through the\nReplicator programme, they are now promoting systems that are \u201csmall,\nsmart, cheap, and plentiful.\u201d This is a tacit admission that the era of\nexpensive and exclusive weapons is wavering and being questioned. That\nweapons in the form of \u201ca few that are very powerful\u201d can now be\ndefeated by weapons in the form of \u201cmany that are good enough\u201d.\nIronically, America, which has long been the symbol of military\ntechnological supremacy, is now developing cheap drones that imitate the\nIranian model. History has a cruel sense of humour, when the\nonce-dismissed student now becomes the unofficial teacher.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/the-arithmetic-of-war-2-0-1774943665",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}