Rahm Emanuel on Trump’s missed drone opportunity

The US is falling behind Ukraine in the race to build and deploy cutting-edge drone technology, and it’s the Pentagon’s fault, says Rahm Emanuel.

A year ago, Rahm Emanuel made a blunt recommendation: don’t ask Ukraine for mineral rights—ask for their drone technology. Now, that warning looks prescient. “They produce new drone technology every four weeks,” he tells Ian Bremmer on stage at the 92nd Street Y in NYC, while “the Pentagon can’t get an RFP out… in four years.”

On the battlefield, Ukraine is rapidly iterating in real time, turning combat lessons into new companies, software, and capabilities almost instantly. Meanwhile, Emanuel says, the US dismissed those innovations just months ago, insisting “we don’t need your technology.” Now, Washington is scrambling to catch up.

The result: a growing gap between the speed of modern warfare and the pace of American defense bureaucracy—and a missed opportunity that could reshape how future wars are fought.