Hand-soldering throughput caps at 15 drones/person/day when designs change biweekly

Military FPV drone production relies on hand-soldering because PCB designs change every 2-4 weeks in response to battlefield feedback (new ESC layout, different antenna placement, added GPS module). SMT pick-and-place machines require 2-3 days of programming and stencil fabrication for each new board revision, making automated assembly uneconomical for runs under 500 units of a single design. A skilled soldier-technician solders 12-15 complete drones per day. This creates a hard manpower ceiling on production throughput. This persists because the design iteration cycle is driven by adversary adaptation (new jamming, new tactics), and slowing iteration to enable automation means fielding obsolete drones.