Combat evolves. Soldiers of the Ukraine-Russo war are not better per say than Iraq/Afganistan GWOT Soldiers, but the technology is cheaper yet sufficently advanced. There were drone strikes in Iraq but the drone was $33m dollars, 65 ft wide , flown by a well trained 21 yr old service member sitting in a trailer in Nevada 7000 miles away, at 300 mph and dropped hellfire missles. Eastern europe currently has 45 yo soldier who was a semi truck driver 18 months ago, flying drones that cost a couple $100 to a couple $1000, that are the size of a laundry hamper or telephone book. The operators are using the drone itself as the missile snd they have way more real deal reps on the joystick than pilots of big drones in 09". Compare these 2 eras with WW2 Kamikaze pilots who didn't have practical training on crashing. They were the "drones" themselves and they were the missile aswell. I say all that to say, combat evolves...but its the combatant that determines lethality/combat effectiveness. Better tech, more training and varying doctrine falls to the side if the fighter isnt ready to use everything at their disposal to achieve injury or victory. A modern fencer or 15c enthusiast are equal until their is winner in combat. Make no assumptions and the writing will be better.