Traditional surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs, remain among the most powerful tools available for defending airspace. Speed and target types Surface-to-air missiles maintain a major advantage when speed matters. The challenge is ensuring that interceptor drones can launch, coordinate, identify targets, and engage quickly enough to deal with multiple threats. Complementary weapons, not replacements Drone interceptors are unlikely to make surface-to-air missiles obsolete. The future of air defense will therefore probably not come down to choosing between missiles and interceptor drones.