“Drones, Drones, Drones” This is Something to Think About 03.13.26

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“Drones, Drones, Drones”

Bill Bunkley’s “This Is Something to Think About”

Air Date Thursday, March 13, 2026

Progress with the war with Iran has been swift, but it is the drones that are giving our U.S. Special Operations Command a lingering headache.

Here’s the challenge. Iran was estimated to have up to 80,000 drones earlier this year. The Shahed-136 disposable, one-way suicide drone costs as low as $20 K a copy. Eliminating the easily movable drone launchers reminds me of the game Whac-A-Mole.

Compare that with the cost of shooting down the drones: $4 million per missile for our Patriot Batteries, or $12 million per missile for our THAAD interceptors. Fighter jets can use their Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System missiles at a cost of $25K to $35K each.

Drone elimination is very costly and will draw out the timeline for the end of our military operations.

Bill Bunkley is a 20-year veteran Salem Media talk show host based in Tampa. The Bill Bunkley Show airs on weekdays from 3 to 5 pm across central Florida. Bill is also President of the Florida Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention (Southern Baptist Convention Churches), among other churches and entities. He has served as the legislative consultant to the Florida Baptist State Convention for the last 30 years at the state capitol in Tallahassee. By the Grace of his Lord Jesus, he is a cancer survivor diagnosed in 2018 with AML Leukemia, having successfully undergone a bone marrow transplant that same year. In 2025, he underwent successful open-heart surgery to repair a heart valve. His wife is Toni, his son is Zac, and he attends Idlewild Baptist Church.

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