guns

This kind of reminds me of the Chaco War. Newly emerging technologies spur new tactics, and the changes can happen rapidly enough to really benefit smaller forces who can adapt quicker

During the final months prior to the outbreak of war, Paraguayan diplomats secured a secret loan from Argentina. Unlike Bolivia, Paraguay had almost no standing army and no peace-time budget for mobilization stockpiles. While their troops fought the first skirmishes of the war armed with machetes and one castoff Argentine Mauser rifle for every 3-7 men, a civilian purchasing commission frantically shopped the arms bazaars of Europe for bargain equipment. Ironically, the inexperience of the men selected for the task and the crippling, national lack of funds now proved fortuitous. While Bolivia's professionals spent lavishly on "serious" weapons, like heavy Schneider howitzers, water-cooled heavy machineguns, tanks, and the all but useless little Vickers mountain guns, the Paraguayan amateurs bought poor man's artillery—light, cheap, Stokes-Brandt mortars, three of which could be had for the price of one field gun—and Madsen light machineguns (right). Cartridges and artillery shells could be had clandestinely, free of charge, from the Argentine army, and grenades were in production in Paraguay itself. In the heat, dense brush, and mud of the Chaco, lightness, mobility, and a high trajectory were the dominant requirements.

http://worldatwar.net/chandelle/v1/v1n3/chaco.html

Don't need anywhere near as much "heavy equipment" and "very long range things" if your military is not created to invade other places. Way cheaper to maintain, less issues with supply chain disruptions, easier training, faster construction and deployment, less issues with decomissioning old systems when new tech is developed.

Though I fear there will be some anti-drone weapons that will have NBC weapons levels of collateral damage developed by "the West."

Drones are almost useless against fortifications, so tanks and artillery are still very important. Drone-armed light infantry can efficiently slow down conventional armed forces, but they would be unable to push them back. But drones will be invaluable for a guerilla war.

assuming complete air superiority, you do need to have some answer how to make armor piercing stuff without it being blown up in one place, and how to avoid logistical snags on the other parts (motors, fibers,connectors, pcb etc)

i think everything you said is true for nations looking to go to war in the next three to five years. After that, i’d imagine more specialized models and tactics will emerge, and versions made with civilian parts will be worse. More importantly, it would probably be best for countries to start their own drone and drone munition production. It’s about training engineers and technicians as much as it is about making weapons.