Ayman al-Zawahiri Drone Strike

Video Above: US Sends Drone Boats to Ukraine

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The successful “drone strike” on Ayman al-Zawahiri offers an interesting window into two distinct, interwoven trajectories, because it reminds Americans that the threat of terrorism and Al Qaeda remains both persistent and quite serious and also that the US has not lost its intensity and vigilance when it comes to the counterterrorism fight.

Ayman al-Zawahiri – Drone Strike

This is quite an accomplishment, given the growing urgency of great power competition, yet the Pentagon and most likely the intelligence community have retained a razor sharp focus on hunting and killing terrorists who threaten the US.

The terrorist threat seems to have a timeless quality, as terrorists may even use time as a weapon of war to plan strikes when they are less expected. However, this is precisely what the US counterterrorism strategy seems to understand, which is why drones, surveillance planes and Special Forces units remain engaged in non-contested, yet terrorist friendly environments. Simply put, the Pentagon and the intelligence community do seem to understand that the war on terror is actually never ending and requires ubiquitous, persistent vigilance and resolve.

While the type of aircraft, weapons used and tactical specifics of the al-Zawahiri strike are not likely to be available for security reasons, the successful hit does reinforce the importance of retaining some medium-to-large-platform armed, yet less stealthy large drones. 

Reaper and Global Hawk Drones

Certainly budgets for large drones such as the Reaper, Global Hawk and other platforms deemed less survivable in a contested, great power war environment have been the subject of great debate, yet their continued value is clearly understood as well.