Actually almost none of that is true either. A manned aircraft full of the same type of gear would cost MORE not less and the risk to aircrews is hard to price. The only part you have remotely correct is about the DoD getting reamed. The biggest con is the F-35. We are gonna end up in serious trouble on that one. I flew the high-fidelity simulator a couple of hours a week and it is a real dog.
No, I disagree with the whole "its a model airplane with a camera" and the "it should cost less than a 737" thing jackass.
Anything MilSpec is 4 or 5 times the price, minimum, of a COTS product. No point in comparing. It’s like comparing apples and Bunsen burners.
It shoudl cost less than a 737 because it just has cameras and flying technology. How are you not outraged we have budget deficits and the DoD is spending $130 million just for this, imagine what other shit costs.
I can buy a drone with camera for a thousand bucks. A really good one. We all know the MIC is who cleans up on this shit...taxpayers pay for it and innocent people die for it. And we should all agree it’s a fucking travesty.
In fairness, these are giant drones packed with technology and let's not forget, they are flown remotely from bases that can be on the other side of the globe. A lot of R and D went into that and it is reflected in the total cost. Of course, the actual cost to build one now is much less, but the total costs of the project have to be paid one way or another. And if we are going to have a world class defense industry, they have to be able to make some money off it. Anyway, shouldn't the Saudis pay for it, since we are acting as their unpaid mercenaries? I would add Israel but since the US taxpayer already underwrites everything from their socialized medicine to their space program, why bother.
Of course they aren’t to be compared to a consumer or commercial drone with a camera. There’s shit going in there that we have no idea the cost to develop and deploy. That being said - it’s still a fucking ripoff. And as for Israel, it’s good we have an ally in that part of the world but subsidizing them to the tune of billions per year...not a fan. But then again - I don’t think the US should be giving anyone any foreign aid, until we can get our own house in order. We are like the ‘rich uncle’ who takes a credit card loan to buy his nephew a new car, while his own son doesn’t even have a pair of fucking shoes.