NEW YORK, May 1. /TASS/. The US Army plans to massively increase the use of drones, the Wall Street Journal reports.

According to the newspaper, the Pentagon "plans to equip each of its combat divisions with around 1,000 drones and to shed outmoded weapons and other equipment." The decision is based on the US military’s assessment of the Ukraine conflict. "It is drones that have transformed the conflict because they are cheap, can attack in swarms to overwhelm defenses, and can send live video feeds to the rear that can make it difficult to hide on the battlefield," the Wall Street Journal writes, citing analysts.

In addition, the US also intends to develop "ways to better link soldiers on the battlefield, drawing on cell phones, tablets and internet technology," and "invest about $3 billion to develop better systems for shooting down enemy drones." "Altogether the overhaul would cost $36 billion over the next five years, officials said, which the Army would come up with by cutting some outmoded weapons and retiring other systems—steps that will require congressional support," the paper notes, adding that Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth had endorsed the "Army Transformation Initiative" earlier in the week.