The military's growing reliance on robot airplanes: By the numbers

A U.S. soldier prepares to deploy a Raven unmanned surveillance drone in Afghanistan in 2010: The military is shifting its strategy to the cheaper, more reliant robotic airplanes.

(Image credit: Bryan Denton/Corbis)

last updated 8 January 2015

When the Obama administration unveiled its plan last week to cut roughly half a trillion dollars from future Pentagon budgets, many analysts seized on Obama's call for more unmanned military drones and fewer ground forces. Some critics are skeptical that a "leaner," technology-reliant military can really keep the country safe. But Obama's latest move is part of a much larger trend: As computerized warplanes become safer, more advanced, and cheaper to produce, the military relies on them more and more. Here, a look at America's growing fleet of robotic aircraft, by the numbers:

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