The U.S. military will need hundreds of thousands of drones of various shapes and sizes with different capabilities in preparation for a future war with China that the War Department hopes it never has to fight.

In a hypothetical war in China, the fighting would likely largely occur in the Pacific region, far from the continental United States, which emphasizes the need for long-range capabilities even though countless small, cheap, and attritable drones or quadcopters will play a significant role as well.

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