The conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated to Western militaries that the value of cheap weaponry in large-scale warfare extends far beyond simple cost savings, according to defence experts and industry leaders. The war has highlighted how mass quantities of inexpensive systems can overwhelm defences and sustain a fight where losses are high.
Retired Air Marshal Greg Bagwell, former Joint Warfare Director for the UK's Royal Air Force, stated that the primary advantage is operational. "We don't go for mass because it's cheap," Bagwell said. "The cheaper it is, the better... but the appeal of massed weaponry is not just because they're cheap."
Mass Enables Attrition and Overwhelms Defences
The core strategic benefit of cheap weapons like the quadcopter drones Ukraine uses against Russian troops and tanks is that they allow militaries to absorb failures. Many drones never reach their target, but their low cost permits deployment in such numbers that they can saturate and shut down enemy systems. "You need to throw enough that you shut down their system and then exploit that gap," Bagwell explained.
This represents a significant shift from decades of Western military doctrine, which heavily prioritised smaller numbers of advanced, expensive systems built for precision. Serhiy Goncharov, CEO of Ukraine's National Association of Defense Industries, argued this traditional focus would be the wrong approach in a protracted conflict. "You don't need 10 Archers from the Swedes that are probably one of the best artillery systems in the world," Goncharov said, referring to the high-end system donated by Sweden. "Instead, you need 200 cheap howitzers."
Cost-Volume-Effectiveness Calculation Redrawn
While individual cheap weapons are often less effective, their volume compensates, and they remain significantly cheaper to acquire in bulk. Thousands of such weapons can be purchased for the cost of a handful of "exquisite" high-end systems. This forces a new strategic calculation, balancing cost, volume, and effectiveness. "The calculation is one that we're going to have to continually look at," Bagwell added.
The sheer scale of the war in Ukraine, where both sides are consuming weapon inventories at a high rate, has made this lesson stark. The experience has pushed Western nations to re-evaluate their defence spending and industrial capacity. Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that "one of the lessons" from Ukraine was the West's need for far greater quantities of low-cost weaponry to meet the demands of a large-scale, high-intensity war.
Future Implications for Defence Planning
The insights from Ukraine are prompting a fundamental rethink in Western defence ministries and industry. The conflict has proven that in a war of attrition, the ability to produce and field mass quantities of effective, affordable systems can be as decisive as technological superiority. This is likely to influence future procurement, stockpiling, and industrial strategies for NATO members and allied nations, shifting focus towards sustainable production of capable but cost-effective munitions and platforms.