Bangladesh, June 1 -- In recent years, the US military has confronted a new kind of challenge: the proliferation of low-cost drones and missiles, such as those deployed by Houthi forces in the Red Sea. These attacks, which have targeted both commercial shipping and US naval assets, have underscored the urgent need for a more agile and cost-effective approach to defense. While the frequency of attacks has diminished for now, US Central Command has cautioned that current strategies for addressing these evolving threats are neither sustainable nor sufficient in the long term.

A central problem is the growing mismatch between the cost of countering these inexpensive, mass-produced threats and the resources required to do so. The US has often...