The Drone Threat Is Already Here

Episode Title:
The Drone Threat Is Already Here

Episode Description:

Drones are no longer just a battlefield problem.

From Ukraine to the Middle East, unmanned systems are reshaping how wars are fought—cheap, scalable, and increasingly accessible to both states and non-state actors.

But the most important shift may not be happening overseas.

It’s happening at home.

In this episode, Scott sits down with Paul Lushenko, Chief Strategist at Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the U.S. military’s newest effort to coordinate a whole-of-government approach to countering drones.

Drawing on both operational experience and research, Lushenko breaks down how drone warfare is evolving, what we’re learning from Ukraine and the current conflict with Iran, and why defending the U.S. homeland against drones is far more complex than most people realize.

• Are drones a revolution in warfare—or just the next evolution?
• What the war in Ukraine is actually teaching us (and what we’re getting wrong)
• How drones are being used in high-end state conflict with Iran
• The growing threat of drones to U.S. bases, infrastructure, and public spaces
• Why the biggest challenge isn’t technology—it’s coordination
• The cost problem: $1M missiles vs. $10K drones
• How tactics spread globally through a “contagion effect”
• The role of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 in countering drone threats
• Why mindset, training, and policy matter as much as hardware

“This isn’t just a capability reserved for distant battlefields. It’s on our shores. It’s on the southern border. It’s at stadiums.”

Paul Lushenko is the Chief Strategist for Joint Interagency Task Force 401, where he helps synchronize U.S. military and interagency efforts to counter drone threats at home and abroad.

He is a career Army officer with nearly two decades of experience supporting special operations and has conducted extensive research on drone warfare, military innovation, and the integration of AI into modern conflict.

Drone warfare is no longer confined to distant battlefields.

As the technology spreads and becomes more accessible, the United States faces a new kind of challenge—one that requires not just better technology, but better integration across the military, government, and society.

This conversation explores what that future looks like—and how prepared we really are.

Follow At the Water’s Edge for conversations on national security, geopolitics, and the future of warfare from a practitioner’s perspective.

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