Ideas for keeping drones out of futuristic combat.
Pretty much what the title says.
I’m working on a futuristic war story and I’m having trouble explaining why drones and unmanned vehicles are not the main power of either sides armed forces.
A lot of this comes from my following of the war in Ukraine, and how much drones have changed the battlefield there. Small cheap drones are being strapped with munitions and used to kill anything from naval vessels to individual soldiers. We’ve also seen them rig wheeled/tracked drones with machine guns and grenade launchers to storm fixed positions. Like it or not, they’re changing the landscape of modern warfare and we haven’t even seen what superpowers will do with this technology yet.
My setting is 1200 years in the future and I’m having trouble justifying why a military that has mastered faster than light space travel would still be sending human soldiers into combat in manned drop ships or have manned fighter aircraft for space combat. Why risk the lives when you could send cheaper and more expendable drones to do the job. Obviously this doesn’t make for a great story, but I also don’t want to just disregard a real life trend that looks be shaping the future of warfare.
I’d love to hear some of your ideas or solutions that explain why drones aren’t viable as a doctrine.
Edit: I want to thank everyone for giving me some great ideas and hope no one takes it personally if I question or dismiss your idea. I don’t mean to be rude or condescending, I’m just trying to poke holes to help narrow down the most viable options.