# Why the US is losing the drone war

An episode of [The Indicator from Planet Money](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1320118593), 6 Jul 2026, 9:00.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/npr.simplecastaudio.com/0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331/episodes/fe99dd42-b676-467a-a970-323bdf909cb5/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331&awEpisodeId=fe99dd42-b676-467a-a970-323bdf909cb5&feed=IFy3imsg&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5883604&p=510325&d=540&size=8644736

The US defense industry is struggling to keep up with the revolution in cheap drones vs. expensive reusable military equipment. Today on the show, we talk with Stacie Pettyjohn, the director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security on the three big reasons the U.S. is falling behind. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. Your Next Listen — How Iran is wasting American resources Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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